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DS  143  . C6  1914a 

Cohen,  Israel,  1879-1961. 

Jewish  life  in  modern  times 


♦ 


1 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


/ 


S  rthitt 


«k*4  ' 

o 

:-UA 


EXILES 


KKOM  THE  TAINTING  BY  SAMUEL  HIKSZENBERC 


JEWISH  LIFE 
IN  MODERN  TIMES 


WITH  TWELVE  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  A  MAP 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1914 


TO 

MY  PARENTS 


s 


I 


I 


\ 


PREFACE 


|  A  HE  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  give  a  compre¬ 
hensive  account  of  the  conditions  of  modern  Jewry 
in  all  their  principal  manifestations  and  variations 
throughout  the  world.  The  book  was  begun  some  years 
ago,  but  its  completion  has  been  delayed  until  now  by  the 
exacting  demands  of  other  professional  work.  The  delay 
has  not  been  altogether  without  advantage,  as  it  has  enabled 
me,  during  a  residence  of  four  years  in  Germany  and 
visits  to  other  parts  of  the  Continent,  to  come  into 
closer  contact  with  various  aspects  of  life  that  I  set 
out  to  depict,  as  well  as  to  include  some  tendencies  and 
developments  that  are  of  quite  recent  origin.  The  interval 
that  has  elapsed  since  the  first  chapter  was  written  has 
witnessed  the  appearance  of  several  works  dealing  with 
Jewish  conditions,  but  each  of  them  has  been  mainly  con¬ 
cerned  with  only  one  aspect  of  Jewish  life  and  approached 
its  study  from  a  special  angle  of  vision.  None  of  them 
presents  a  picture  of  Jewish  life  as  it  is,  with  all  its  tra¬ 
ditional  characteristics  and  customs,  its  sufferings  and  its 
achievements,  its  foibles  and  its  ideals,  and  yet  without 
such  a  portrayal  of  actual  conditions  it  is  scarcely  possible 
fully  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  tendencies  and 
movements  that  play  a  leading  part  in  the  world  of  Jewry 
to-day.  One  may  study  the  variety  of  anthropological 
types  among  the  modern  children  of  Israel,  their  racial 
origin  and  cultural  value,  their  contribution  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  modern  commerce,  and  the  processes  by 


VII 


viii  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

which  their  disintegration  as  a  people  is  taking  place. 
But  unless  one  is  acquainted  with  the  essence  of  Jewish 
life,  with  its  primal  contents  and  fundamental  bases, 
one  cannot  understand  the  changes  that  are  being  wrought 
in  its  forms  or  perceive  their  significance  ;  unless  one 
realizes  the  manifold  diversity  that  distinguishes  Jews 
in  regard  to  political  status,  economic  welfare,  and  in¬ 
tellectual  activity  in  different  lands,  and  in  regard  to 
religious  outlook  even  in  the  same  land,  one  must  fail 
to  appraise  local  or  transitory  phenomena  at  their  true 
worth  and  likewise  to  grasp  the  pregnant  import  of  a 
movement  of  world-wide  compass. 

The  purpose  of  this  volume  is,  therefore,  in  the  first 
place,  to  depict  the  variegated  life  of  the  Jewish  people 
at  the  present  day  in  all  its  intimacy  and  intensity,  and 
secondly,  to  trace  the  evolution  that  is  being  produced 
by  modern  forces,  or,  in  other  words,  to  describe  the  static 
conditions  of  Jewry  and  then  to  analyse  the  effects  of 
the  dynamic  forces  to  which  they  are  exposed.  The 
widest  possible  purview  has  been  taken  :  the  whole  crowded 
map  of  Jewish  life  has  been  unfolded,  surveyed,  and 
described,  with  the  help  of  such  elucidations  from  history 
as  are  necessary  to  understand  the  present  situation. 
First,  a  General  Survey  is  presented,  showing  the  dis¬ 
persion  and  distribution  of  Jewry  in  its  countless  mani¬ 
festations,  its  diversity  of  composition  in  political  and 
spiritual  respects,  and  the  solidarity  that  unifies  its 
disparate  elements.  Then  follow  five  main  sections,  in 
each  of  which  a  leading  aspect  of  life  is  investigated — 
the  social,  the  political,  the  economic,  the  intellectual, 
and  the  religious.  Under  the  Social  Aspect  are  set  forth 
the  growth  and  constitution  of  the  community,  the 
characteristics  and  customs  of  the  home,  social  life  and 
amenities,  morality  and  philanthropy,  and  racial  and 
physical  conditions.  Under  the  Political  Aspect  are 


PREFACE 


IX 


related  how  one-half  of  the  people  acquired  civil  equality, 
how  the  other  half  is  still  suffering  in  bondage,  and  what 
services  Israel  has  rendered  to  so  many  countries  both 
in  their  government  and  their  defence.  Under  the  Econ¬ 
omic  Aspect  are  reviewed  the  different  spheres  of  commercial, 
industrial,  and  professional  activity  in  which  Jews  are 
engaged,  the  contrasts  of  material  welfare  and  predomin¬ 
ance  of  poverty,  and  the  ceaseless  currents  of  migration 
from  the  lands  of  bondage  to  the  havens  of  refuge.  Under 
the  Intellectual  Aspect  are  considered  the  advance  made 
by  secular  education  among  the  Jews,  the  nature  of 
their  national  intellectual  products  in  modern  times, 
and  the  contributions  they  have  rendered  to  the  progress 
and  culture  of  humanity.  Under  the  Religious  Aspect 
are  described  their  ecclesiastical  organization  and  ad¬ 
ministration,  their  traditional  faith  and  observance  and 
the  growing  divergences  therefrom,  and  then  the  drift 
and  apostasy  that  are  assuming  ever  more  alarming 
proportions.  Finally,  the  resultant  tendency  of  all  the 
foregoing  manifestations  is  examined  under  the  National 
Aspect,  the  strength  of  the  forces  of  assimilation  and 
absorption  is  contrasted  with  the  inherent  force  of  con¬ 
servation,  and  the  realization  of  the  Zionist  ideal  is  urged 
as  the  most  effective  means  of  ensuring  the  perpetuation 
of  Israel. 

A  certain  amount  of  overlapping  has  been  inevitable 
in  the  composition  of  this  book  owing  to  the  peculiar  com¬ 
plexity  of  Jewish  life,  but  an  endeavour  has  been  made 
to  restrict  this  duplication  to  the  minimum.  It  has  been 
found  impossible  to  include  all  the  innumerable  phases  and 
phenomena  of  the  modern  Jewish  dispersion,  nor  would 
the  restricted  compass  of  this  volume  have  permitted 
such  an  exhaustive  and  detailed  record  ;  but  I  believe  that 
I  have  brought  within  the  covers  of  a  single  book  the 
fullest  description  yet  attempted  of  all  the  main  aspects 


X 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  problems  of  Jewish  life  at  the  present  day.  Refer¬ 
ences  are  given  in  footnotes  to  the  more  important  sources 
that  have  been  consulted,  of  which  the  Zeitschrift  fur 
Demographic  und  Statistik  der  Juden  and  the  other  publica¬ 
tions  of  the  Berlin  Bureau  for  Jewish  Statistics  deserve  a 
special  meed  of  acknowledgment,  as  without  them  the 
collation  of  the  latest  vital  statistics  of  Jews  in  different 
countries  would  have  involved  considerable  labour.  Al¬ 
though  I  cannot  claim  any  personal  experience  of  American 
conditions,  I  have  studied  the  development  of  Jewish 
life  in  the  New  World  in  American  books  and  newspapers 
for  the  last  fourteen  years  and  owe  many  items  of  informa¬ 
tion  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Bernard  G.  Richards,  the  Secretary 
of  the  New  York  Jewish  Community,  which  I  gladly 
acknowledge  here. 

The  illustrations,  with  one  exception,  consist  of  re¬ 
productions  from  the  works  of  eminent  Jewish  artists, 
who,  through  different  media,  have  depicted  various 
phases  of  Jewish  life  in  modern  times.  The  one  ex¬ 
ception  has  been  made  in  favour  of  a  photograph  of 
the  Bezalel  School  in  Jerusalem,  which  symbolizes  the 
new  spirit  that  has  come  over  the  Holy  Land.  The 
diagram  and  map  illustrating  respectively  the  distribution 
and  density  of  the  world’s  Jewish  population  have  been 
prepared  upon  the  basis  of  my  figures  and  suggestions 
by  Herr  Davis  Trietsch,  of  Berlin. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  express  my  cordial  thanks 
to  the  Rev.  S.  Levy,  M.A.,  for  the  scrupulous  care  he 
has  bestowed  upon  the  reading  of  the  proofs  and  for 
many  valuable  suggestions. 


August  1914 


I.  c. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  I 

GENERAL  SURVEY 

CHAP.  PAGE 

Introduction  .  .  .  .  .  i 

I.  Dispersion  and  Distribution  .  .  .5 

II.  Diversity  of  Composition  .  .  .  .  15 

III.  Solidarity  .  .  .  .  .  23 

BOOK  II 

THE  SOCIAL  ASPECT 

Introduction  .  .  .  .  .29 

I.  The  Community  .  .  .  .  31 

—  II.  The  Family  .  .  .  .  .  .40 

III.  The  Home  :  External  Features  .  .  .48 

IV.  Home  Life  and  Customs  .  .  .  .58 

V.  Philanthropy  .  .  .  .  .75 

VI.  Morality  .  .  .  .  .  .88 

VII.  Social  Life  .  .  .  .  .  .99 

—VIII.  Racial  and  Physical  Characteristics  .  .111 

—  BOOK  III 

THE  POLITICAL  ASPECT 

Introduction  .  .  .  .  .  133 

I.  The  Acquisition  of  Civil  Rights  .  .  .135 

II.  Sufferings  in  Bondage  ....  145 

III.  Political  Activity  and  State  Service  ,  .  166 


XI 


Xll 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


BOOK  IV 

THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECT 


CHAP.  PAGE 


Introduction 

• 

• 

180 

I. 

Spheres  of  Economic  Activity 

• 

• 

182 

II. 

Riches  and  Poverty 

• 

• 

204 

III. 

Migrations  .... 

• 

• 

214 

BOOK  V 

THE  INTELLECTUAL.  ASPECT 

Introduction 

• 

• 

223 

I. 

Education  .... 

• 

• 

225 

II. 

Jewish  Culture 

• 

• 

239 

III. 

Contributions  to  General  Culture  and  Progress. 

254 

BOOK  VI 

THE  RELIGIOUS  ASPECT 

Introduction 

• 

• 

267 

I. 

Organization  and  Administration 

• 

• 

269 

II. 

Faith  and  Observance 

• 

• 

2  77 

III. 

Drift  and  Apostasy 

• 

• 

291 

BOOK  VII 

THE  NATIONAL  ASPECT 

}  V 

Introduction 

• 

• 

308 

I. 

Assimilation  or  Conservation 

• 

• 

310 

II. 

Zionism  .... 

• 

• 

327 

APPENDICES 

I. 

Statistics  of  the  World’s  Jewish  Population 

345 

II. 

Immigration  to  North  America 

• 

350 

III. 

Bibliography 

• 

352 

Index  of  Subjects  . 

• 

357 

Index  of  Names 

• 

370 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Exiles  .......  Frontispiece 

From  the  painting  by  Samuel  Hirszenberg 

FACING  PAGE 

The  Jewish  Quarter  in  Amsterdam  .  .  .32 

From  the  painting  by  Prof.  Max  Liebermann,  by  permission  of 
Paul  Cassirer,  Berlin 

A  Jewish  Wedding  .  .  .  .  .  -44 

From  the  painting  by  J  osef  Israels 

Sabbath  in  a  Russian  Home  .  .  .  -54 

From  the  painting  by  Samuel  Hirszenberg 

The  Termination  of  the  Sabbath  .  .  .  .66 

From  an  etching  by  Hermann  Struck,  by  permission  of  the  artist 

Ghetto  Minstrels  .  .  .  .  .  .102 

From  the  drawing  by  Leonid  Pasternak,  by  permission  of  the  artist 

Weary  Wanderers  .  .  .  .  .  .158 

From  the  painting  by  Leopold  Pilichowski,  by  permission  of  the 
artist 

A  Talmudical  College  .....  226 

From  the  painting  by  Samuel  Hirszenberg 

The  Eve  of  Atonement  Day  ....  270 

From  the  relief  by  Henryk  Hochman,  by  permission  of  the  artist 

The  Feast  of  Tabernacles  .....  284 

From  the  painting  by  Leopold  Pilichowski,  by  permission  of  the 
artist 

The  Wailing  Wall  in  Jerusalem  .  .  .  -310 

From  an  etching  by  Ephraim  M.  Lilien,  by  permission  of  the 
Neue  Photographische  Gesellschaft,  Berlin 

The  Bezalel  School  in  Jerusalem  .  .  .  338 

By  permission  of  the  Jiidische  Zeitung,  Vienna 

Map  of  the  Comparative  Density  of  the  Jewish  Popu¬ 
lation  .....  End  of  Book 


Xlll 


ONE  PEOPLE  ARISETH,  ANOTHER  DISAPPE ARETH, 

BUT  ISRAEL  ENDURETH  FOR  EVER.”| 

Midrash  on  psalm  xxxvi 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN 

TIMES 


BOOK  I 

A  GENERAL  SURVEY 

INTRODUCTION 

The  complexity  of  Jewish  life — The  dispersion  of  Jewry — The 
cause  of  dispersion — The  diversity  of  Jewry — Its  solidarity — Three 
main  aspects  to  be  examined 

MODERN  Jewry  presents  so  many  aspects  of  com¬ 
peting  interest  that  in  attempting  a  comprehensive 
survey  of  its  life  and  labour  one  is  faced  by  the 
difficulty  of  fixing  upon  a  convenient  point  of  departure. 
Its  social  life  is  moulded  by  religious  observance  and 
diversified  by  political  forces  ;  its  economic  conditions  are 
fashioned  by  historic  development  and  likewise  affected  by 
political  milieu  ;  its  intellectual  products  bear  the  impress 
of  racial  characteristics  and  national  experiences  ;  and  its 
spiritual  tendencies  are  governed  not  only  by  faith  and 
tradition  but  also  by  the  sure  and  subtle  influence  of  social, 
political,  and  intellectual  developments  ;  whilst  the  alluring 
riddle  of  the  future  of  the  Jew — popularly  styled  “  the 
Jewish  question  ” — can  only  be  solved,  if  solved  at  all,  by  a 
careful  study  of  all  these  spheres  of  life  and  labour.  But 
these  various  spheres  are  so  closely  intertwined  with  one 
another  that  it  is  difficult  to  investigate  any  one  in  strict 
isolation,  and  yet  an  orderly  inquiry  demands  their  separate 
treatment.  We  shall  be  in  a  better  position,  however,  to 
embark  upon  a  detailed  investigation  of  each  sphere  and  to 

i 


2 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


address  ourselves  to  the  question  of  the  future  if  we  pre¬ 
viously  make  a  general  survey  of  the  vast  and  variegated 
world  of  Jewry,  noting  its  main  and  most  distinctive 
characteristics. 

The  first  impression  conveyed  by  our  domain  is  the  ex¬ 
tensive  dispersion  of  its  inhabitants,  reaching  from  one  end 
of  the  globe  to  the  other.  Numerous  as  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munities  are  in  Eastern  Europe,  numerous  as  they  also  are 
in  North  America,  neither  one  region  nor  the  other  must 
eclipse  from  our  sight  the  existence  of  countless  other 
colonies  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  every  country  of 
Europe,  in  North  and  South  Africa,  in  most  of  the  countries 
in  Asia  from  Palestine  to  Japan,  in  most  of  the  populous 
centres  of  Australasia,  and  in  many  of  the  newly  developed 
states  in  South  America,  there  are  communities,  in  compact 
masses  or  meagre  clusters,  which  still  preserve  in  varying 
degree  a  life  distinct  from  that  which  surrounds  them — 
treasuring  the  laws  of  Mount  Sinai  and  hallowing  the  customs 
of  ancient  Judaea.  In  the  swarming  Ghetti  of  Poland,  where 
piety,  pathos,  and  poverty  commingle  ;  in  the  fashionable 
suburbs  of  Paris  and  New  York,  Vienna  and  London,  redo¬ 
lent  of  wealth  and  culture,  in  the  ancient  cities  of  Jerusalem 
and  Damascus,  Rome  and  Alexandria,  and  in  the  modern 
cities  of  Johannesburg  and  Buenos  Ayres,  Montreal  and 
Melbourne  ;  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  the  Ganges,  and  the 
Missouri,  and  beneath  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  Andes, 
the  Alps,  and  the  Himalayas  ;  in  the  steppes  of  Siberia,  the 
cave-dwellings  of  Tripoli,  and  the  backwoods  of  Australia, 
in  the  mining  camps  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  prairies  of 
the  Argentine  ;  in  all  these  diverse  centres  of  civilization, 
old  and  new,  great  and  small,  refined  and  rude,  scattered 
promiscuously  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  the  prayers  of 
“  the  chosen  people  ”  are  still  uttered  in  the  language  of  the 
Psalms,  and  the  memory  of  the  ancestral  deeds  of  glory  and 
martyrdom  is  cherished  with  pride  and  celebrated  with 
the  rites  of  hoary  tradition. 

The  principal  cause  of  this  dispersion,  which  has  now 
attained  greater  dimensions  than  at  any  previous  period, 
has  been  persecution.  The  banishment  of  the  Jews  from 


INTRODUCTION 


3 


their  own  or  their  adopted  home  was  the  cause  of  their 
wanderings  in  ancient  and  mediaeval  times  ;  and  political 
oppression  in  various  forms  is  the  chief  motor  force  in  their 
migrations  at  the  present  day.  In  point  of  numbers  their 
migration  in  modern  times,  particularly  during  the  last 
thirty  years,  far  exceeds  that  of  their  previous  history,  and 
it  is  attended  by  a  tragedy  not  less  poignant,  if  less  violent, 
than  that  which  marked  a  mediaeval  expulsion.  In  former 
times  the  tide  of  migration  flowed  from  west  to  east ;  in  our 
days  it  flows  from  east  to  west.  The  spirit  of  enterprise 
and  adventure,  which  is  chiefly  responsible  for  the  dis¬ 
persion  of  modern  nations  and  the  founding  of  their  colonies, 
has  manifested  itself  only  in  a  minor  degree  in  the  annals  of 
Israel.  Occasionally  it  has  combined  with  the  force  of 
persecution  in  directing  the  footsteps  of  the  Jew  away  from 
those  lands  of  liberty,  England  and  the  United  States,  most 
invaded  by  his  oppressed  co-religionists,  to  remoter  havens 
of  refuge  in  Argentina,  South  Africa,  and  Australasia.  But 
the  spirit  of  enterprise,  as  the  sole  stimulus  of  migration,  has 
operated  only  among  those  who  have  long  been  settled  in 
Western  countries  and  who  have  been  prompted  by  economic 
motives  to  try  their  fortunes  in  new  and  distant  lands. 

Vast  as  is  our  domain,  it  is  utterly  lacking  in  homo¬ 
geneity.  To  the  outward  eye  all  Jews  are  alike,  if  not  exactly 
in  physical  appearance  yet  by  virtue  of  an  indefinable  racial 
trait,  pervasive  yet  elusive.  In  reality,  however,  they  are 
marked  by  a  number  of  differences  that  sharply  divide  them 
into  distinct  classes.  They  are  differences  not  merely  of 
social  and  political  status,  nor  of  religious  ritual  and 
conformity,  nor  of  spiritual  tendency  and  intellectual 
outlook,  nor  of  communal  organization,  nor  of  the 
appearance  of  the  individual  type,  nor  of  assimilation 
to  environment.  The  diversity  is  not  confined  to  any  one 
of  these  spheres  or  factors  :  it  prevails  in  each  and  every 
one,  and  in  combinations  of  all,  in  varying  degrees.  The 
resultant  types  baffle  enumeration,  and  their  number 
and  complexity  are  increasing  from  year  to  year  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  advance  of  emigration,  education,  emanci¬ 
pation,  and  assimilation.  The  chief  line  of  division,  roughly 


4 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


separating  the  Jews  of  the  East  from  those  of  the  West,  may 
be  drawn  in  a  semicircle  across  the  map  of  Europe,  with 
Libau  and  Tangier  as  the  extremities  of  the  diameter.  The 
Jews  of  the  East,  living  mostly  in  lands  of  oppression  and 
primitive  development,  are  distinguished  by  their  religious 
and  intellectual  conservatism ;  the  Jews  of  the  West,  in¬ 
cluding  those  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  enjoy  varying 
degrees  of  political  liberty  and  display  different  degrees  of 
religious  and  intellectual  liberalism.  In  addition  to  these 
broad  differences  there  is  a  diversity  of  attitude  towards 
nationalist  aspirations,  and  as  each  country  is  not  only 
differentiated  in  many  respects  from  other  countries  but 
also  has  its  own  quota  of  peculiar  types,  it  is  manifest  enough 
that  modern  Jewry  is  not  a  homogeneous  organism  but  an 
elaborately  differentiated  society,  composed  of  disparate 
types  and  animated  by  conflicting  tendencies. 

But  despite  this  dispersion  and  diversity  there  is  a  bond 
of  union.  It  is  the  racial  sentiment,  born  of  the  conscious¬ 
ness  of  a  common  origin,  a  common  history,  and  common 
sufferings.  However  acute  the  divisions  may  be  on  the 
merits  of  orthodoxy,  or  on  the  virtue  of  the  Zionist  ideal, 
they  are  levelled  by  the  influence  of  the  past  which  generates 
a  spirit  of  solidarity,  welding  the  disparate  units  into  a  har¬ 
monious  whole.  The  racial  consciousness  is  keenest  in  the 
religious  Jew,  but  long  after  the  prayers  and  rites  of  the 
Synagogue  have  ceased  to  make  an  appeal  it  still  survives 
and  can  even  be  transmitted  for  a  generation  or  two.  In 
abnormal  times,  such  as  the  outbreak  of  a  massacre  in 
Russia  or  of  a  riot  in  an  Eastern  country,  it  is  evinced  in  the 
speedy  dispatch  of  aid  to  the  sufferers  and  in  its  prompt  in¬ 
vocation  of  Government  intervention.  Scattered  among  all 
the  lands  of  the  earth,  without  a  political  centre  or  spiritual 
overlord,  the  Jews  are  united  by  a  bond  of  racial  solidarity 
which  is  tested  and  strengthened  in  times  of  need. 

Modern  Jewish  life  thus  presents  three  main  features  : 
extensive  dispersion,  diversity  of  composition,  and  soli¬ 
darity.  Each  of  these  features  will  now  be  examined  more 
fullv. 


CHAPTER  I 

a 

DISPERSION  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


Number  of  Jews  in  the  world  and  in  each  continent — Apparent 
multitude  and  real  paucity  in  each  country — The  centre  of  gravity 
of  Jewry  —  The  Russian  Pale  —  Austria-Hungary,  particularly 
Galicia  —  Germany,  Turkey,  Rumania,  the  British  Isles,  and  the 
rest  of  Europe — Asiatic  countries — Communities  in  Africa — The 
Jews  in  America — The  greatest  Jewish  city — Settlements  in 
Australasia 

^HE  total  number  of  Jews  in  the  world  at  the  present 
day  amounts  approximately  to  13, 500, ooo. 1  This  is 
JL  the  highest  figure  that  they  have  ever  reached  in 
their  history,  and  yet  it  forms  only  about  a  hundred  and 
twentieth  of  the  entire  population  of  the  globe.  Their 
numbers  are  thus  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  prominence  and 
significance  on  the  stage  of  the  world.  Although  Asiatic  by 
origin,  with  a  continuous  history  of  three  thousand  years  on 
Asiatic  soil,  they  are  mostly  concentrated  in  Europe,  whither 
they  gravitated  after  the  downfall  of  Judaea  in  70  c.e.  In 
this  continent  they  number  10,068,435,  three-fourths  of  the 
total  Jewish  population,  whilst  in  Asia  they  number  only 
525,658.  Thus,  in  the  continent  which  gave  them  birth 
and  which  witnessed  the  first  and  highest  efflorescence  of 
their  genius,  the  Jews  are  now  represented  by  less  than  a 
twenty-fifth  of  their  total  number.  In  the  New  World, 
which  Columbus  discovered  with  their  material  aid  in  the 
year  in  which  they  were  expelled  from  Spain,  there  are 
2,495,805,  all  of  whom,  save  about  200,000,  are  inhabitants 
of  the  United  States.  In  Africa  there  are  414,246,  and  in 
Australasia  19,415. 

The  most  notable  feature  in  their  distribution  over  the 

1  See  Appendix  I,  “  Jewish  Population  Statistics.” 

5 


6 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


earth’s  surface  is  the  unevenness  of  density.  In  some 
regions  there  are  compact  and  congested  communities  which 
seem  wholly  composed  of  Jews  ;  in  others  the  appearance  of 
a  J  ew  is  sufficiently  rare  to  be  a  curiosity .  This  phenomenon 
is  not  confined  to  any  particular  continent ;  it  is  character¬ 
istic  of  nearly  every  country  in  the  world.  The  gregarious¬ 
ness  of  the  Jews,  apart  from  historical  and  psychological 
considerations,  has  given  them  a  position  of  prominence  on 
the  stage  of  the  world  far  exceeding  that  proportionate  to 
their  numbers.  For  even  in  the  countries  in  which  their 
numbers  are  highest,  Russia  and  Austria-Hungary,  they 
form  less  than  five  per  cent  of  the  total  population ;  but 
their  residence  is  mostly  confined  to  a  comparatively  small 
part  of  either  country,  where  political  and  industrial  life  is 
most  vigorous,  and  where  public  opinion  is  keenest,  and 
hence  their  compact  solidity  in  these  busy,  pulsating  centres 
conveys  an  impression  of  numerical  magnitude  which  is 
utterly  belied  by  their  real  paucity.  In  Western  Europe 
too,  and  in  the  United  States,  the  Jewish  population  bears 
an  even  smaller  proportion  to  the  general  population,  vary¬ 
ing  from  a  quarter  to  three  per  cent ;  but  here  likewise  it 
is  largely  confined  to  the  capitals  and  the  great  cities,  whose 
local  problems  bulk  upon  the  national  horizon  to  an  inor¬ 
dinate  extent,  and  whose  Jewish  inhabitants  seem  to  those 
who  mould  public  opinion  to  reflect  a  similar  populousness 
throughout  the  country.  In  addition  to  this  physical 
crowding  into  the  main  centres  of  national  life  there  are 
special  circumstances  that  make  the  Jews  seem  far  more 
numerous  than  they  really  are,  namely,  the  inevitable  pro¬ 
minence  of  a  different  racial  type,  and  their  participation 
and  success  in  callings,  such  as  the  law,  politics,  the  stage, 
the  press,  and  the  stock  exchange,  which  enjoy  an  undue 
measure  of  public  attention. 

The  centre  of  gravity  of  modern  Jewry  is  in  the  Russian 
Pale  of  Settlement,  which  contains  six  million  Jews.  This 
region  is  situated  between  the  Baltic  Provinces  and  the 
shores  of  the  Black  Sea ;  it  comprises  the  ten  provinces  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Poland  and  fifteen  provinces  of  Lithuania, 
White  Russia,  South-Western  and  Southern  Russia ;  and  it 


DISPERSION  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


7 


has  an  area  of  362,000  square  miles,  which  is  equal  to  three 
times  the  size  of  the  United  Kingdom.  As  constituted  to¬ 
day  the  Pale  was  established  in  1835  ;  it  is  an  expansion  of  a 
smaller  region  that  was  delimited  in  1769  for  the  restricted 
residence  of  the  J  ews  ;  while  the  policy  of  isolation  which  it 
embodies  was  first  put  into  practice  by  the  Muscovite 
Government  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  history  of  the 
Jews  in  this  country,  however,  goes  back  to  the  earliest 
times.  According  to  Armenian  and  Gregorian  historians, 
they  were  deported  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  Armenia  and  the 
Caucasus  after  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple,  in  586  b.c.  ; 
and  their  influence  in  the  eighth  century  was  sufficiently 
evidenced  by  the  conversion  to  Judaism  of  the  kingdom  of  the 
Chazars,  a  people  inhabiting  the  region  of  the  lower  Don,  the 
Vistula,  and  the  Dnieper,  whose  independence  lasted  until 
969  a.d.  Until  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century 
their  numbers  were  comparatively  few.  The  great  mass  of 
them  came  under  the  sway  of  the  Tsar  in  consequence  of 
the  partition  of  Poland,  whither  they  had  fled  for  refuge  in 
the  Middle  Ages  from  the  chronic  outbreaks  of  persecution 
in  Western  Europe,  and  where  they  had  pursued  their  lives 
in  peace,  with  little  interruption,  and  even  with  a  measure 
of  communal  autonomy.  The  change  of  ruler  exposed  them 
to  the  very  dangers  which  had  made  their  forefathers  settle 
in  Poland,  but  the  disturbed  conditions  of  the  time,  com¬ 
bined  with  memories  of  the  past  and  hopes  for  a  brighter 
future,  prevented  any  wholesale  migration  back  to  the 
Western  countries.  Thus,  the  dismemberment  of  Poland  in 
1795  placed  half  of  the  Jewish  race  under  Russian  dominion, 
and  there  it  has  remained  unto  the  present  day. 

The  total  number  of  Jews  in  the  Russian  Empire,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  latest  estimates  (1905),  was  6,122,127,  which 
represents  a  percentage  of  only  4-6  of  the  total  population. 
By  far  the  greatest  number,  93-9  per  cent,  live  in  the  Pale, 
which  occupies  only  a  fifth  of  European  Russia  and  a 
twenty-fifth  of  All  the  Russias.  The  remainder,  who  are 
privileged  to  live  outside  it,  consisting  mainly  of  merchants 
of  the  first  guild,  members  of  professions,  and  master 
artisans,  number  less  than  half  a  million,  which  is  an 


8 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


insignificant  proportion  ('037  per  cent)  of  the  general 
population.  But  although  the  preponderating  mass  of 
Russian  Jews  live  in  the  Pale,  they  form  only  ii*6  per  cent — 
less  than  a  ninth — of  the  entire  population  of  that  region. 
This  proportion,  however,  affords  no  exact  indication  of  the 
real  conditions,  as  more  than  five  out  of  the  six  millions  are 
concentrated  in  cities  and  towns,  in  consequence  of  laws 
passed  in  1882  and  1891  against  the  further  settlement  of 
Jews  in  rural  districts.  The  congestion  is  thickest  in  the  six 
north-western  provinces,  in  which  they  form  nearly  60  per 
cent  of  the  urban  population  ;  whilst  even  in  the  least  con¬ 
gested  districts,  in  Southern  Russia,  they  represent  a  per¬ 
centage  of  28*2.  Berditchev,  which  has  a  Jewish  popu¬ 
lation  of  47,000  in  a  total  of  53,000,  a  percentage  of  87, 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  most  Jewish  town  in  the 
world.  There  are  48  towns  with  more  than  10,000  Jewish 
inhabitants,1  of  which  only  five  are  outside  the  Pale  (Kiev, 
Riga,  St.  Petersburg,  Rostov  on  Don,  and  Kharkov).  The 
city  containing  the  greatest  number  of  Jews  is  Warsaw  with 
308,488,  whilst  Odessa  comes  next  with  170,000  and  Lodz 
with  92,308.  Thus,  although  the  number  of  Jews  in  the 
Russian  Empire  is  so  small  in  proportion  to  the  entire  popu¬ 
lation  that,  if  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  Tsar’s 
dominions,  their  presence  would  be  almost  unnoticed,  their 
forced  aggregation  in  the  towns  of  only  one-fifth  of  European 
Russia  has  produced  an  intensity  of  communal  life,  pre¬ 
served  intact  the  orthodox  observance  of  religious  customs 
and  the  spirit  of  national  culture,  and  created  permanent 
problems  of  economic  distress. 

In  Austria-Hungary  the  Jews  present  a  similar  pheno¬ 
menon  of  uneven  distribution.  Their  total  numbers  are 
1,313,687  in  Austria,2  and  932,416  in  Hungary,3  forming  a 
percentage  of  only  4*4  of  the  entire  population.  But  two- 
thirds  of  the  Jews  in  Austria  are  crowded  together  in  the 
province  of  Galicia,  where  they  form  over  10  per  cent  of  the 
population.  In  the  province  of  Bukowina  the  proportion 

1  Die  sozialen  V erhciltnisse  der  Juden  in  Russland,  p.  16. 

2  Census  of  1910. 

3  Census  of  1910  ( Die  Welt,  17th  January  1913). 


DISPERSION  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


9 


is  a  little  higher,  being  nearly  13  per  cent.1  The  early 
history  of  Galicia  belongs  to  the  kingdom  of  Poland,  hence 
we  naturally  find  there  a  great  aggregation  of  Jews.  In  two 
towns  of  Galicia,  Brody  and  Buczacz,  they  form  an  absolute 
maj ority,  and  in  ten  they  form  the  relative  majority.2  They 
also  constitute  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  inhabitants  in 
seven  towns  in  Hungary.3  Their  highest  percentage  (67*5) 
is  in  Brody,  where,  however,  the  total  number  of  Jews  is 
only  14,729.  The  highest  number  of  Jews  in  any  city  in 
Austria-Hungary  is  203,687  in  Budapest,  where  they  form 
nearly  a  fourth  of  the  inhabitants,  whilst  in  Vienna  they 
number  175,318,  and  constitute  less  than  a  tenth  of  the 
inhabitants.  Lemberg,  Cracow,  and  Czernowitz  are  the 
next  three  Jewish  communities  in  point  of  size  ranging 
from  57,387  to  28,613. 

After  Austria-Hungary  comes  Germany,  with  a  Jewish 
population  of  615, 029, 4  which  forms  less  than  one  per  cent 
of  its  entire  numbers,  and  of  which  nearly  one-fourth  is 
found  in  the  city  of  Greater  Berlin  (142, 289). 5  In  Turkey, 
which  showed  generous  hospitality  to  the  Jews  upon  their 
expulsion  from  mediaeval  Spain,  there  are  now,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  recent  loss  of  territory,  only  about  95,000,® 
mostly  concentrated  in  Constantinople.  In  Rumania 
there  are  250,000,  forming  about  3*2  per  cent  of  the  general 
population.  Here,  as  in  Russia,  they  have  been  forbidden 
by  law  to  live  in  the  country  districts ;  they  have  been  evicted 
from  one  village  after  another  and  compelled  to  crowd  into 
the  towns.  Hence,  nearly  one-half  of  their  number  are 
cooped  up  in  the  four  cities  of  Bucharest,  Jassy,  Botoschani, 
and  Galatz,  comprising  half  of  the  population  in  Jassy  and 
Botoschani.  In  the  British  Isles,  where  a  resettlement  of  the 
Jews  took  place  under  Cromwell  after  an  absence  of  three 
centuries  and  a  half,  there  are  270,000,  representing  a  per¬ 
centage  of  *59  of  all  the  inhabitants.  More  than  half  of 


1  Zeitschrift  fur  Statistik  und  Demographie  dev  Juden,  1912. 

2  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  22.  3  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  136. 

4  Census  of  1910. 

5  Zeitschrift  fur  Statistik  und  Demographie  der  Juden,  1913,  p.  12. 

6  Estimate  of  “Alliance  Israelite  Universelle.” 


10 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


them  live  in  London  (160,000),  and  more  than  a  fourth  in 
the  three  cities  of  Manchester,  Leeds,  and  Liverpool.  The 
total  number  of  Jews  in  the  United  Kingdom,  however,  is 
less  than  that  in  the  one  city  of  Warsaw.  Holland,  which, 
like  Turkey,  also  welcomed  fugitives  from  Inquisition-ridden 
Spain  and  Portugal,  has  106, 309, 1 — less  than  the  number  in 
Vienna — of  whom  more  than  half  are  confined  to  Amster¬ 
dam.  France  has  100,000,  which  is  less  than  Odessa,  and 
forms  less  than  one-quarter  per  cent  of  the  general  popu¬ 
lation,  whilst  more  than  half  are  confined  to  Paris.  Italy 
has  only  45,000,  of  whom  10,000  live  in  Rome  ;  Bulgaria, 
50,000,  of  whom  one-fourth  live  in  Sofia  and  Philippopolis  ; 
Belgium,  15,000,  of  whom  nearly  one-half  are  in  Brussels 
(6500)  ;  and  Switzerland  has  19, 023. 2  Greece,  through  its 
acquisition  of  Salonica  and  other  Turkish  towns,  has  now 
about  90,000  Jews,  and  Servia  about  16,000,  while  the 
remaining  countries  of  Europe,  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark, 
Spain,  and  Portugal  have  each  less  than  4000. 

The  Jews  in  Asia  number  only  525,658,  an  insignificant 
fraction  of  the  teeming  millions  in  that  vast  continent. 
Less  than  a  fourth  (100,000)  live  in  Palestine,  where  they 
form  14*2  per  cent  of  the  general  population,  a  higher  propor¬ 
tion  than  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  country  in  the  world, 
not  even  excepting  Poland,  where  they  constitute  137 
per  cent  of  the  population.  Fully  one-half  of  the  Jews  in 
Palestine  live  in  Jerusalem,  where  they  comprise  half  of  the 
inhabitants.  In  Asia  Minor  there  are  60,000,  of  whom 
nearly  one-half  live  in  Smyrna.  In  Asiatic  Russia  there 
are  120,636;  in  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  100,000;  in 
Persia,  40,000 ;  in  Arabia,  30,000 ;  in  Afghanistan, 
19,000 ;  in  India,  20,900,  of  whom  more  than  a  half  are 
in  the  State  of  Bombay;  in  China  and  Japan,  2000.  In 
Palestine,  Asiatic  Russia,  and  J  apan,  the  J  ewish  population 
is  largely  composed  of  European  immigrants  who  settled  in 
those  countries  in  the  latter  half  of  the  ninteeenth  century. 
In  the  other  parts  of  Asia  the  Jews  have  formed  a  constant 
element  since  the  early  centuries  of  the  current  era,  their 
first  notable  migration  eastward  from  Palestine  having  been 

1  Census  of  1909.  2  Census  of  1910. 


DISPERSION  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


ii 


due  to  deportation  after  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple, 
more  than  two  thousand  years  ago.  The  Jews  of  Cochin 
claim  to  have  come  to  Malabar  from  Jerusalem  soon  after 
its  downfall  in  the  year  70,  whilst  the  derelict  Jewish  colony 
in  Kai-Fung-Foo  has  a  tradition  that  Jews  first  entered 
China  under  the  Han  dynasty,  during  the  reign  of  Han 
Ming-ti,  58-76  c.e. 

The  Jews  in  Africa  number  414,246,  of  whom  nearly 
300,000  inhabit  the  countries  along  the  north  coast.  Their 
settlement  in  this  region,  irrespective  of  the  period  of 
bondage  in  the  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs,  took  place  two 
thousand  years  ago.  The  communities  are  to  be  found  at 
their  densest  in  Morocco,  which  is  believed  to  contain 
109,000  Jews,  mostfy  congregated  in  Mogador,  Tetuan,  and 
Tangier.  In  Algeria  there  are  70,271,  and  in  Tunis,  65, 213. 1 
In  Egypt  there  are  50,000,  of  whom  more  than  five-sixths 
are  concentrated  in  Cairo  and  Alexandria  ;  and  in  Tripoli 
and  Cyrenaica,  19,000.  Abyssinia  contains  an  ancient 
community,  who  trace  their  history  back  to  the  days  of  the 
Temple  and  their  origin  to  the  visit  paid  by  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  to  King  Solomon.  Their  numbers  have  been  esti¬ 
mated  by  Dr.  Jacques  Faitlovitch,  who  has  made  several 
explorations  of  the  country  since  1904,  at  50, 000. 2  In  the 
neighbouring  territory  of  the  East  African  Protectorate  there 
is  a  small  colony  of  fifty  Jews,  who  have  recently  immigrated 
thither  either  direct  from  Europe  or  from  South  Africa. 

In  South  Africa  itself  there  is  a  thriving  community  of 
50,000,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  immigrants  from 
Europe  and  their  descendants,  of  whom  a  third  are  con¬ 
centrated  in  Johannesburg  and  Cape  Town.  The  founders 
of  this  community  made  their  way  to  the  Cape  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  were  pioneers  in 
the  industrial  development  of  nearly  the  whole  interior 
of  the  country.3  The  great  influx  of  Jews  into  this  region, 
however,  did  not  take  place  until  the  outbreak  of  persecu- 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographic  der  Juden,  1911,  p.  48. 

2  Dr.  J.  Faitlovich,  Quer  durch  Ahessinien,  p.  173. 

3  Cf.  “  Jewish  Pioneers  of  South  Africa,"  by  Sidney  Mendelssohn,  in 
Transactions  of  the  Jewish  Historical  Society  of  England,  vol.  vii.  pp. 
180-205. 


12 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


tions  in  Russia,  in  the  early  eighties,  and  they  are  now  to 
be  found  in  hundreds  of  towns  throughout  British  South 
Africa,  extending  from  the  coast  to  the  farthest  outposts 
in  the  interior. 

The  Jews  in  America  number  2,495,805,  and  form  the 
second  largest  continental  aggregation.  Their  connexion 
with  America  began  even  before  its  discovery,  for  they 
were  the  authors  of  astronomical  works  and  scientific 
instruments  that  helped  Columbus  to  direct  his  course, 
they  supplied  a  great  deal  of  the  money  that  made  his 
voyages  possible,  and  at  least  five  persons  of  Jewish  blood 
accompanied  him  on  his  first  voyage.  It  is  even  now 
conjectured  that  Columbus  himself  was  of  Jewish  blood. 
The  coincidence  of  his  discovery  of  the  New  World  with 
the  expulsion  of  the  J ews  from  Spain  seems  as  obvious  an 
act  of  Providence  as  any  that  historians  can  demonstrate. 
The  phenomenon  has  often  been  noted  by  those  who  have 
chronicled  the  wanderings  of  Israel,  but  the  first  to  refer 
to  it  was  Columbus  himself  in  his  journal,  a  letter  written  to 
his  Jewish  patron,  Santangel.  The  coincidence,  striking 
as  it  is,  should  not  blind  us,  however,  to  the  fact  that  Jews 
contributed  in  brains  and  money  to  the  discovery  of  their 
new  land  of  refuge.  Moreover,  one  of  their  number,  Luis 
de  Torres,  who  accompanied  Columbus  as  an  interpreter, 
is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  European  to  tread  the 
soil  of  America. 

The  first  migration  of  Jews  to  the  New  World  took 
place  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  exiles 
from  Spain  settled  in  *Brazil,  Mexico,  Peru,  and  other 
parts  of  South  America.  A  hundred  and  fifty  years  later 
the  descendants  of  other  exiles,  who  had  fled  to  Holland 
and  built  up  the  important  community  of  Amsterdam, 
emigrated  to  New  Amsterdam,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  still  more  important  and  numerous  community  of 
New  York.  The  wars  in  Central  Europe  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  culminating  in  the  partition  of  Poland,  drove 
another  host  of  emigrants,  mostly  from  Germany  and 
Poland,  across  the  Atlantic.  But  all  these  successive 
migrations,  even  down  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 


DISPERSION  AND  DISTRIBUTION 


13 


century,  did  not  contribute  any  very  considerable  addition 
to  the  population.  Not  until  1882,  when  an  epidemic  of 
massacres  broke  out  among  the  Jews  in  Russia,  did  the 
volume  of  emigration  attain  imposing  dimensions.  From 
that  year  down  to  the  present  day  the  tide  of  Jewish 
emigration  from  Eastern  Europe  has  flowed  without  pause, 
increasing  in  strength  with  every  fresh  outbreak  of  per¬ 
secution.  Before  the  eighties  the  Jewish  population  of 
America  was  less  than  half  a  million  :  it  now  amounts  to 
more  than  four  times  that  number. 

The  inequality  that  marks  the  distribution  of  the  Jews 
in  the  Old  World  also  characterizes  their  settlement  in  the 
New  World.  The  overwhelming  bulk  live  in  the  United 
States,  while  smaller  communities  have  developed  in 
Canada,  Argentine,  Mexico,  and  some  of  the  southern  re¬ 
publics.  In  the  United  States  the  J ewish  population  may  be 
estimated  at  2,300,000  souls,1  nearly  half  of  whom  are  con¬ 
tained  in  a  single  city — Greater  New  York.  This  city,  with 
its  aggregation  of  a  million  Jews,  possesses  the  largest 
Jewish  community  in  the  world,  and  likewise  the  largest 
known  in  the  entire  annals  of  history.  The  dimensions 
of  the  vast  colony  may  be  appreciated  from  the  fact  that  it 
contains  as  many  Jews  as  the  next  five  largest  centres  put 
together,  namely,  Warsaw,  Budapest,  Chicago,  Vienna,  and 
Odessa.  At  present  the  Jews  form  a  little  more  than  a 
fourth  of  the  general  population  in  New  York,  and  while 
there  is  no  doubt  that  their  absolute  numbers  will  steadily 
increase,  it  is  also  very  probable  that  with  their  superior 
fecundity  they  will  soon  surpass  their  present  ratio  to  the 
general  population.  There  are  several  other  cities,  too, 
with  big  Jewish  communities:  Chicago  has  200,000; 
Philadelphia,  150,000  ;  Boston,  75,000  ;  Cleveland,  60,000  ; 
and  Baltimore,  50,000.  In  Canada  there  are  74,564, 
nearly  half  of  whom  are  concentrated  in  Montreal,2  while 
22,500  live  in  Toronto,  and  14,000  in  Winnipeg.  In  the 
Argentine  there  are  100,000,  of  whom  24,000  are  settled  in 
the  agricultural  colonies  established  by  the  Jewish  Coloniza- 

1  See  Appendix  I. 

2  Census  of  1911  ( Canadian  Jewish  Times,  14th  March  1913). 


*4 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


tion  Association,  and  the  remainder  are  in  Buenos  Ayres 
and  other  cities.1  Mexico  has  nearly  10,000  Jews,  Cuba 
4000,  and  Brazil  3000,  while  smaller  numbers  are  dis¬ 
persed  in  Jamaica,  Dutch  Guiana,  Venezuela,  Chile,  and 
other  southern  states. 

Australasia,  the  last  of  the  continents  to  be  colonized, 
contains  only  19,415  Jews,  of  whom  2128  are  inhabitants  of 
New  Zealand.  The  largest  community  is  that  of  Sydney, 
which  has  6355  Jews,  while  Melbourne  comes  next  with 
5500.  In  Perth  there  are  1100,  and  the  numbers  in  the 
other  towns  are  even  smaller.  The  settlement  of  the  Jews 
in  Australasia  began  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  but  it  did  not  attain  considerable  proportions — 
in  relation  to  local  conditions — until  the  discovery  of 
gold  in  1851.  The  earliest  immigrants  originated  from 
England,  and  most  of  the  subsequent  settlers  also  pro¬ 
ceeded  from  this  country,  including  of  late  years  some 
Russian  Jews,  who,  finding  no  prospects  of  improvement 
here,  sailed  for  the  Antipodes. 

1  Jewish  Chronicle,  29th  May  1914. 


CHAPTER  II 


DIVERSITY  OF  COMPOSITION 


Diversity  the  result  of  dispersion — The  main  difference  dis¬ 
tinguishing  the  Jews  of  the  East  from  those  of  the  West — The 
vigour  and  complexity  of  Jewish  life  in  the  West — Differences  be¬ 
tween  Eastern  and  Western  Europe — Characteristics  of  Eastern 
Europe — Religious  tendencies  in  Western  Europe  and  America — 
Zionism  and  other  forms  of  Nationalist  aspiration — Forces  of 
dissolution  :  in  economic,  political,  social,  and  intellectual  life 


HE  great  diversity  that  characterizes  modern 
Jewry  is  the  natural  result  of  its  dispersion 
throughout  the  globe.  Although  united  by 
community  of  religion  and  culture,  the  Jews  present 
notable  differences  of  physical  type  and  intellectual  ten¬ 
dency.  This  differentiation  is  produced  by  the  influence 
of  their  several  environments,  which  vary  from  one  another 
in  physical,  political,  and  intellectual  conditions,  and  effect 
corresponding  variations  among  their  Jewish  denizens. 
But  the  Jews  of  any  particular  country,  although  exposed 
to  the  same  general  influences,  are  not  moulded  into  a 
uniform  pattern.  Having  settled  in  the  land  at  different 
periods,  and  having  brought  from  their  previous  homes 
different  modes  of  life  and  different  degrees  of  conservatism, 
they  resist  the  surrounding  influences  with  unequal  will 
and  strength  and  exhibit  varying  grades  of  assimilation 
to  the  general  population.  In  each  individual  country, 
therefore,  there  is  a  series  of  classes  or  types  of  Jews, 
shaded  off  from  one  another,  and  thus  the  multiplicity  of 
types  in  the  world  forms  an  almost  endless  series. 

The  main  difference  is  that  which  distinguishes  the 
Jews  of  the  East  from  those  of  the  West,  though  these 


15 


i6 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


terms  must  not  be  taken  in  a  strictly  geographical  sense. 
The  Jews  of  the  East  are  those  living  in  the  countries  of 
Asia,  North  Africa,  and  Eastern  Europe.  Settled  in  lands 
that  have  known  little  or  no  progress  for  the  last  two 
thousand  years,  cut  off  from  the  stimulating  forces  of 
modern  thought  and  civilization,  they  have  remained  for 
the  most  part  in  the  same  stage  of  culture  as  their  remote 
ancestors.  The  Jews  of  Asia  Minor,  Persia,  and  Arabia, 
probably  differ  in  physiognomy  only  in  a  faint  degree  from 
the  contemporaries  of  Judas  Maccabaeus,  while  those 
settled  along  the  southern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  can 
also  have  undergone  little  change  owing  to  their  living  in 
compact,  congested  communities.  From  the  days  when 
the  Rabbis  of  the  schools  of  Babylon  mapped  out  minutely 
the  religious  life  of  the  Jew,  these  Eastern  communities 
have  shown  unswerving  loyalty  to  Talmudic  law  and 
traditional  custom.  Only  once,  in  the  eighth  century,  did 
a  revolt  break  out  against  the  Rabbinical  code,  but  the 
sectarians,  who  proclaimed  their  adhesion  to  the  letter  of 
the  Scriptures  and  are  known  as  Karaites,  were  never 
numerous.  Their  numbers  are  estimated  at  the  present 
day  at  12,000,  of  whom  10,000  are  in  Russia.  But  the 
bulk  of  eastern  Jewry  remained  stationary  and  stagnant, 
save  for  its  natural  increase,  until  aroused  from  its  long 
slumber  fifty  years  ago  by  the  educational  efforts  of  the 
“  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,”  supplemented  later  by 
the  Anglo- Jewish  Association  and  the  “  Hilfsverein  der 
deutschen  Juden.” 

Quite  a  different  spectacle  is  presented  by  the  Jews  of 
the  West,  who  have  continuously  displayed  intellectual 
activity  for  the  last  twelve  hundred  years.  Not  only  have 
they  produced  a  voluminous  literature  of  theology,  poetry, 
and  philosophy,  besides  works  of  travel,  history,  satire, 
and  imagination,  but  even  in  the  days  of  political  out¬ 
lawry  they  distinguished  themselves  as  devotees  of  science, 
particularly  in  the  realm  of  medicine,  astronomy,  and 
mathematics.  At  the  present  day,  in  every  country  of 
Western  Europe,  in  America,  and  in  the  British  possessions, 
Jews  are  participating  in  the  general  life  of  their  environ- 


DIVERSITY  OF  COMPOSITION  17 

ment,  in  its  social  and  political  affairs,  its  industrial  and 
commercial  activity,  and  its  intellectual  aspirations.  It  is 
just  because  their  share  in  the  national  life  of  their  country, 
especially  where  they  enjoy  complete  emancipation,  has 
developed  to  such  a  high  degree,  that  a  complexity  has  been 
wrought  in  their  own  life.  Moulded  by  an  infinitude 
of  competing  influences  in  their  several  centres,  despite 
their  inherited  instincts  and  ideas,  they  acquire  a  varied 
outlook  upon  Judaism,  develop  differences  of  religious 
creed  and  conformity  and  maintain  different  views  upon 
their  duty  towards  their  race  and  upon  its  destiny. 

An  exhaustive  enumeration  of  all  the  types  and  tend¬ 
encies  among  Western  Jewry  would  be  impossible  in  a 
preliminary  survey  :  the  utmost  that  can  be  attempted 
is  to  trace  the  main  forces  making  either  for  the  absorption 
or  the  preservation  of  the  race.  Such  a  survey  is  best 
conducted  from  east  to  west,  from  Eastern  Europe,  where 
political  bondage  has  caused  the  social  isolation  of  Jewry, 
to  Western  Europe  and  other  parts  of  the  world  where 
political  equality  has  been  followed  by  a  liberal  inter¬ 
mingling  with  non- Jews.  By  Eastern  Europe  is  meant 
primarily  the  Russian  Empire,  in  which,  with  insignificant 
exceptions,  Jews  are  denied  the  ordinary  rights  of  citizen¬ 
ship  and  are  confined  to  the  Pale  of  Settlement.  The 
exclusion  of  the  Jews  from  political  and  civic  life,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  their  aggregation  in  towns  in  which  they 
form  the  majority,  on  the  other  hand,  have  had  the  in¬ 
evitable  effect  of  intensifying  their  communal  life  and 
strengthening  their  solidarity.  They  have  produced  a 
Jewish  environment  in  a  non- Jewish  land,  an  environment 
affording  most  of  the  essential  conditions  for  a  strict 
observance  of  religious  rites,  for  the  preservation  of  ancient 
traditions,  the  fostering  of  a  separate  culture,  and  the 
pursuit  of  distinctive  ideals.  They  have  contributed  to 
the  development  of  a  modern  Jewish  literature,  press,  and 
drama,  to  the  maintenance  of  separate  schools  and  libraries, 
to  the  formation  of  countless  societies  for  intellectual  or 
philanthropic  purposes,  and  even  to  the  creation  of  specifi¬ 
cally  Jewish  industries.  The  atmosphere  thus  created  in 
2 


1 8 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  Russian  Pale  is  reproduced  in  the  neighbouring  territory 
of  Galicia  ;  it  prevails  likewise  in  Rumania  and  Turkey, 
and  it  is  also  found,  in  greater  or  less  measure,  modified 
by  liberal  conditions  and  tinctured  by  the  local  spirit,  in 
the  great  Ghettos  that  have  arisen  in  Western  Europe  and 
America. 

This  atmosphere  is  permeated  and  dominated  by  the 
sentiment  of  religion  :  it  fills  a  world  that  revolves  about 
an  axis  of  orthodox  faith,  whose  poles  have  been  fixed 
by  the  laws  of  the  Talmud.  Not  all  the  inhabitants  of 
this  world  are  attached  with  equal  fervour  to  the  ancient 
traditions,  but  all  are  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit  of 
Rabbinical  Judaism  which  has  held  dominion  in  their 
midst  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  The  most  orthodox 
regulate  every  day  in  their  lives,  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave,  by  the  minute  and  comprehensive  laws  of  the  medi¬ 
aeval  codex,  the  Shulchan  Aruch  (“  Table  Prepared  ”), 
based  and  elaborated  upon  the  decisions  of  the  Talmud, 
which,  in  turn,  are  derived  from  the  laws  of  Moses.  Settled 
though  the  Jews  have  been  in  Poland,  Lithuania,  and 
Galicia,  for  hundreds  of  years,  their  minds  are  still  steeped 
in  the  lore  of  their  ancestors  who  lived  in  Babylon  in  the 
early  centuries  after  the  destruction  of  the  Temple.  To 
them  the  traditions  handed  down  by  their  ancestors  are 
as  dear  and  as  divinely  inspired  as  the  commandments 
thundered  forth  from  Sinai.  They  study  them,  and  all 
ancient  Hebrew  literature  embodying  them,  with  touching 
piety ;  they  initiate  their  children  into  religious  rites  from 
their  earliest  lisp  ;  and  they  hold  the  day  imperfect  on 
which  they  have  not  uttered  a  hundred  benedictions. 
Three  times  a  day  they  turn  their  faces  towards  Jerusalem, 
their  prayers  re-echoing  with  the  yearning  for  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah  and  the  rebuilding  of  Zion. 

As  we  travel  westward  we  reach  a  more  temperate 
zone,  which  merges  in  places  even  into  frigidity  ;  but  so 
complex  is  the  diversity  of  modern  Jewry  that  even  in 
lands  that  have  witnessed  the  furthest  extreme  of  reform, 
such  as  Germany  and  the  United  States,  there  are  numerous 
strongholds  of  orthodoxy.  The  general  feature  that 


DIVERSITY  OF  COMPOSITION 


*9 


distinguishes  Western  Jewry  is  moderation  in  devotion 
and  in  the  observance  of  traditional  customs.  The  pre¬ 
valent  and  growing  tendency,  due  to  social  and  economic 
forces,  is  to  divorce  religious  practice  from  daily  life,  to 
exclude  the  former  more  and  more  from  the  home  and  to 
confine  it  to  the  synagogue.  The  synagogues  are  more 
imposing  and  ornate  than  in  the  East,  but,  except  for  New 
Year  and  the  Day  of  Atonement,  they  mostly  present  a 
doleful  array  of  deserted  benches.  In  matters  of  ritual 
Western  Jewry  is  divided  into  Ashkenazim  or  “  German,” 
and  Sephardim  or  “  Spaniards,”  a  distinction  which  dates 
from  mediaeval  times,  when  Germany  and  Spain  formed 
the  two  most  important  centres  of  Jewish  life  and  which 
consists,  apart  from  the  question  of  ritual,  in  a  different 
pronunciation  of  Hebrew  and  different  intonation  of  the 
prayers.  In  matters  of  principle,  Western  Jewry  is  divided 
into  two  camps — Orthodoxy  and  Reform — the  division 
being  based  on  a  difference  of  conception  of  Israel’s  destiny. 
The  Orthodox  regard  the  dispersion  of  Jewry  as  a  divine 
punishment  for  past  transgression,  and  they  believe  in  the 
coming  of  a  personal  Messiah  and  in  the  restoration  of 
Israel  to  Palestine.  The  Reformers,  on  the  other  hand, 
regard  dispersion  as  Israel’s  final  lot  and  as  the  divinely 
appointed  means  for  universalizing  the  teachings  of  J uda- 
ism.  These  differences  of  principle  are  reflected  in  the 
ritual  and  other  external  forms,  but  neither  Orthodoxy  nor 
Reform  presents  an  aspect  of  complete  uniformity.  In 
recent  years  a  new  development  of  the  Reform  school  has 
arisen  under  the  name  of  Liberal  Judaism,  a  movement 
which  has  made  further  sacrifices  of  traditional  rites  and 
provides  services  in  the  vernacular  on  Saturday  afternoon 
or  Sunday  morning  for  those  who  cannot  or  will  not  attend 
the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath. 

The  conflict  of  views  upon  the  destiny  of  Israel  is  also 
reflected  in  the  varying  attitude  towards  the  Zionist  move¬ 
ment,  which  aims  at  re-establishing  Jewish  national  life 
in  Palestine.  Zionism  draws  the  greatest  proportion  of 
its  followers  from  the  Orthodox  camp,  but  there  are  many 
in  it  who  are  opposed  to  Zionism  on  the  ground  that  the 


20 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


restoration  of  Israel  to  the  Holy  Land  must  await  the 
advent  of  the  Messiah ;  while  there  are  Reformers  who, 
though  discarding  the  belief  in  a  Messiah,  look  upon  the 
regeneration  of  Judaea  as  the  best  means  of  fulfilling  the 
Jewish  mission.  In  this  cross-division  we  may  note  that 
the  two  principal  forces  in  the  conservation  of  Judaism 
are  the  orthodox  synagogue  and  the  Zionist  movement. 
The  synagogue  is  a  passive  force,  which  is  being  slowly 
and  subtly  undermined  by  the  adverse  influences  of  Western 
civilization  ;  the  Zionist  movement  is  the  only  active  force 
which  is  endeavouring  to  counteract  these  corroding 
influences.  There  are  two  other  forms  of  nationalist 
aspiration  of  a  feebler  character.  The  one  is  the  theory 
propounded  by  the  Russo- Jewish  historian,  Dubnow,  that 
national  Jewish  culture  and  autonomy  should  be  developed 
in  the  various  lands  of  dispersion,  a  theory  which  fails  to 
take  into  account  the  diverse  and  adverse  influences 
exercised  by  varied  environments,  resulting  in  different 
types  of  Judaism.  The  other  tendency  is  embodied  in 
the  aim  of  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization  to  found  a 
home  for  the  Jewish  people  in  any  land  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.  This  Organization,  created  in  1905  by  seceders 
from  the  Zionist  movement,  at  a  time  when  the  world 
re-echoed  with  the  groans  of  the  victims  of  Russian  pogroms, 
found  much  sympathy  and  support  at  first ;  but  its  quest 
for  a  land  has  so  far  been  fruitless,  and  its  positive  activity 
has  been  limited  to  the  transplanting  of  ten  thousand 
Russian  emigrants  via  Galveston  to  the  United  States. 

Opposed  to  the  agencies  consciously  striving  for  the 
conservation  of  Jewry  are  innumerable  forces  working  for 
its  dissolution.  In  every  country  in  the  Western  world 
there  is  an  open  advocacy  of  the  doctrine  of  assimilation, 
that  Jews  should  regard  themselves  as  distinguished  from 
their  fellow-citizens  merely  in  respect  of  religion,  but  that 
otherwise  they  should  merge  themselves  completely  in  the 
general  life  of  the  nation  in  whose  midst  they  dwell.  The 
practice  of  this  doctrine,  often  preached  from  radical 
pulpits,  inevitably  leads  to  mixed  marriages  and  apostasy. 
But  the  forces  of  dissolution  operate  for  the  most  part 


DIVERSITY  OF  COMPOSITION 


21 


unconsciously  :  they  arise  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
environment,  which,  impregnated  with  the  spirit  of  science 
and  dominated  by  industrial  competition,  is  inimical  to 
the  cultivation  of  an  Oriental  faith.  Even  the  Jews  in 
Eastern  Europe  are  also  exposed  to  corroding  influences, 
for  political  persecution  drives  them  to  seek  refuge  in 
baptism  or  else  to  remove  their  homes  to  a  land  where 
man’s  highest  energies  are  devoted  to  the  amassing  of 
wealth.  Thus  the  soul  of  Israel  among  the  nations  is 
nowhere  immune  from  insidious  assault.  The  exigencies 
of  the  economic  world  react  upon  all  strata  of  Jewry,  and 
cause  widespread  neglect  of  the  Sabbath.  The  attractions 
of  the  political  and  the  distractions  of  the  social  world 
influence  those  of  comfortable  material  status,  who  seek 
further  outlets  for  their  ambition,  and  in  the  process  they 
gradually  become  estranged  from  the  synagogue  and 
sometimes,  even  in  the  course  of  a  generation  or  two, 
from  their  faith. 

But  more  subtle  and  penetrating  in  its  effects  than  all 
these  forces  is  the  general  intellectual  atmosphere  of  the 
countries  of  dispersion.  Born  in  the  homelands  of  modern 
civilization,  reared  in  Western  schools  and  universities,  and 
nurtured  upon  non- Jewish  lore,  the  Jews  tend  to  become 
alienated  from  their  own  historic  culture.  Their  thoughts 
and  ideas  are  apt  to  be  inspired  and  fashioned  less  by  the 
intellectual  traditions  of  their  race  than  by  the  intellectual 
agencies  of  their  native  land ;  and  the  less  of  Judaism  they 
have  imbibed  in  their  youth  the  more  easily  are  they 
moulded  into  the  prevalent  national  type.  This  spiritual 
metamorphosis,  aided  and  impelled  by  countless  unseen 
forces,  precipitates  the  detachment  of  Jews  from  their  race 
and  faith  and  their  gradual  absorption  by  the  nations.  Nor 
do  they  remain  mere  passive  creatures  of  their  environment, 
but  actively  assist  in  moulding  it  anew.  In  science  and  art, 
in  literature  and  politics,  in  music  and  the  drama,  and  in 
various  spheres  of  the  academic  world,  their  achievements 
are  remarkable  not  only  in  relation  to  the  short  time  they 
have  engaged  in  European  culture,  but  in  virtue  of  their  own 
intrinsic  worth.  They  are  among  the  keenest  and  most 


22 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


trenchant  critics  of  literature,  among  the  most  fertile  com¬ 
posers  and  brilliant  executants  of  music ;  among  the 
leading  specialists  in  medical  science,  and  the  doughtiest 
champions  of  political  and  ethical  movements.  And  the 
thoroughness  with  which  they  have  thrown  themselves  into 
the  intellectual  ferment  of  modern  times  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  the  Jewish  origin  of  many  celebrities  often 
passes  unnoticed,  so  utterly  denuded  is  their  work  of  any 
element  reminiscent  of  their  racial  descent,  religious  faith, 
or  historic  culture. 


CHAPTER  III 


SOLIDARITY 

The  springs  of  solidarity,  and  its  forms  of  expression — The 
growth  of  the  community  and  its  institutions — The  cultivation  of 
solidarity — The  work  of  philanthropic  associations — The  National¬ 
ist  movement — The  potentialities  of  solidarity  and  its  limitations 

AMID  the  welter  of  conflicting  movements  and 
divergent  tendencies  that  characterize  modernjewry, 
there  is  one  unifying  element  :  the  sentiment  of 
solidarity.  Not  only  among  those  languishing  in  the  lands 
of  persecution,  but  also  among  those  thriving  in  the  lands  of 
freedom,  the  feeling  still  prevails  that  “  all  Israel  are 
brethren.”  The  strength  of  this  feeling  is  a  witness  to  the 
continued  vitality  of  the  historic  consciousness  in  this  age  of 
increasing  assimilation ;  its  universality  is  a  consequence 
and  a  reflection  of  the  world- wide  dispersion  of  Jewry.  The 
concrete  form  in  which  it  is  normally  manifested  is  the 
spontaneous  organization  of  communities  in  whatever  part 
of  the  globe  Jews  may  settle.  The  special  forms  in  which 
it  finds  expression  are  the  measures  adopted  for  the  relief 
of  distress  and  the  defence  of  Jewish  interests,  and,  most 
notably,  in  the  projects  launched  for  the  solution  of 
the  Jewish  Question. 

The  simplest  and  commonest  form  of  Jewish  solidarity 
is  the  organized  community,  which  will  be  found  in  any 
town  containing  even  a  handful  of  Jews.  The  motor  force 
in  its  organization  is  the  desire  for  public  worship,  which 
cannot  be  properly  conducted  according  to  religious  law 
without  a  minimum  of  ten  adult  males.  The  primary  force 
is  thus  religious,  and  its  external  expression  gradually 

materializes  into  a  Synagogue.  This  institution  forms  the 

23 


24 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


pivot  and  centre  of  communal  life  throughout  Jewry,  and 
its  establishment  is  followed  by  the  growth  of  a  cluster  of 
other  institutions,  each  answering  some  definite  social  need 
or  aspiration  :  a  school  for  the  education  of  the  young  in 
the  tenets  of  Judaism  and  the  Hebrew  language,  a  com¬ 
mittee  or  board  of  guardians  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  a 
society  for  the  furtherance  of  Jewish  knowledge  by  lectures 
and  debates,  and  for  the  provision  of  social  entertainment. 
An  indispensable  adjunct  of  every  community  is  also  a 
separate  cemetery  consecrated  for  the  reception  of  the 
dead.  The  town  communities  are  often  linked  together  by 
association  with  a  central  body  in  the  metropolis,  either  for 
religious  or  secular  purposes,  particularly  in  the  Western 
world.  The  religious  body  acts  as  the  ecclesiastical 
authority,  the  secular  body  as  the  guardian  of  civil  and 
political  interests.  Some  communities  contain  such  an 
abundance  and  elaboration  of  institutions,  answering  not 
only  to  a  variety  of  tendencies  and  rites  in  the  religious 
domain,  and  to  every  conceivable  social,  philanthropic,  and 
intellectual  purpose,  but  also  to  separate  industrial  and 
professional  interests,  and  to  rival  political  aspirations, 
that  they  form  complete  social  organisms  in  themselves. 

Cognate  in  origin,  allied  by  the  same  traditions  and 
customs,  these  communities  give  to  modern  Jewry  the 
semblance  of  a  vast  network  of  autonomous  settlements. 
The  enlightened  Jew,  in  whatever  part  of  the  globe  he  may 
live,  is  conscious  of  this  world- wide  dispersion.  He  has 
acquired  this  consciousness  from  his  earliest  youth,  with 
his  initiation  into  the  history  of  his  people  ;  nay,  from  his 
early  childhood,  when  he  first  heard  stories  of  their  perse¬ 
cution  in  barbarous  lands  told  in  hushed  breath  at  the 
family  hearth.  The  knowledge  is  fostered  by  his  press, 
which  takes  as  its  sphere  of  interest  the  conditions  of  Jewry 
throughout  the  world  ;  it  is  stimulated  by  contact  with 
fellow- Jews  arriving  from  other  lands  ;  it  is  sustained  by 
the  frequent  dispersion  of  the  members  of  a  single  family, 
particularly  from  Russia,  to  all  corners  of  the  globe.  The 
average  Jew  of  to-day,  therefore,  has  a  wide  range  of 
interests,  an  extensive  area  of  vision.  His  sympathy  finds 


SOLIDARITY  25 

points  of  contact  in  every  latitude  ;  his  mental  horizon  en¬ 
compasses  the  whole  globe. 

But  there  are  more  concrete  and  substantial  media  for 
the  manifestation  and  cultivation  of  solidarity.  They 
consist  in  the  great  philanthropic  associations  founded  by 
the  Jews  of  the  West  for  the  benefit  of  their  brethren  in 
the  East,  and,  above  all,  in  the  organization  aiming  at  the 
restoration  of  Jewish  national  life  in  Palestine.  The  philan¬ 
thropic  associations  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  great  capitals 
of  Europe,  and  their  activity  is  confined  for  the  most  part 
to  ameliorating  the  intellectual  and  economic  conditions  of 
the  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe  and  the  Orient.  Earliest  in 
foundation  was  the  “  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,  ”  which 
was  established  in  i860,  in  Paris,  to  relieve  the  social  misery 
and  intellectual  stagnation  of  the  Jews  in  the  Near  East, 
brought  to  light  by  the  ritual  murder  accusation  of  Dam¬ 
ascus.  Its  plan  of  operation  was  to  found  schools  in  which 
the  children  should  receive  a  modern  training  to  equip 
them  for  the  battle  of  life.  Eleven  years  later  the  Anglo- 
Jewish  Association  was  established  in  London  to  aid  in 
this  work,  and  soon  after  the  “  Israelitische  Allianz  ”  was 
formed  in  Vienna  to  deal  similarly  with  the  needs  of  the 
swarming  populace  of  Galicia.  The  most  recent  founda¬ 
tion  is  the  “  Hilfsverein  der  deutschen  Juden  ”  of  Berlin, 
which  not  only  aims  at  improving  the  conditions  of  the 
Jews  of  the  East,  but  also  protects  and  assists  the  hosts  of 
Russian  emigrants  who  yearly  pass  through  Germany  in 
quest  of  a  land  of  refuge.  The  activity  of  these  bodies  is 
solely  philanthropic,  but  it  assumes  somewhat  of  a  political 
colouring  when  the  lives  and  property  of  their  countless 
wards  are  threatened  by  riots  or  persecution,  for  then  they 
solicit  the  goodwill  of  their  respective  governments  on 
their  behalf.  But  this  political  activity — if  such  it  may  be 
called — is  prompted  solely  by  a  crisis,  and  it  is  wholly  con¬ 
fined  to  overcoming  the  crisis.  Richer  in  resources  and 
wider  in  its  area  of  activity  is  the  Jewish  Colonization 
Association,  which  owes  its  existence  and  its  funds  entirely 
to  one  man,  Baron  Maurice  de  Hirsch.  Founded  in  Paris, 
in  1891,  for  the  relief  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  by  settling  them 


26 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


in  agricultural  colonies  in  Argentina,  it  soon  expanded  in 
scope,  establishing  farmsteads  in  North  and  South  America, 
undertaking  the  supervision  of  the  colonies  in  Palestine 
created  by  Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild,  and  adopting 
various  practical  measures  for  improving  the  status  of  the 
Jews  in  Eastern  Europe  and  the  neighbouring  lands  of  Asia. 

The  most  impressive  manifestation  of  solidarity  is 
afforded  by  the  Zionist  movement,  which  aims  at  re¬ 
storing  Jewish  national  life  in  the  Holy  Land.  It  is  the 
only  movement  of  a  political  character  which  binds  the 
scattered  members  of  Israel  together.  Its  ideals,  espoused 
in  every  country  of  the  world,  provide  the  only  common 
platform  upon  which  Jews  of  different  environment 
and  upbringing  can  meet,  for  they  are  directed  not 
to  the  amelioration  of  any  section  but  to  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  the  welfare  of  the  whole  people.  The  Zionist 
Congresses  have  contributed  more  to  enabling  Jews  of 
different  lands  and  languages  to  understand  one  another 
and  to  levelling  down  environmental  prejudices  than  any 
other  factor  in  modern  times.  By  rousing  the  historic 
consciousness,  by  promoting  the  use  of  Hebrew  as  a  spoken 
language  and  fostering  its  literature,  by  bringing  the  vision 
of  a  regenerated  Judaea  from  the  mystic  region  of  Messianic 
ideals  to  the  terrestrial  sphere  of  modern  politics,  and  by 
focusing  effort  upon  the  practical  rejuvenation  of  Palestine, 
Zionism  has  contributed  in  an  unparalleled  degree  to  the 
strengthening  of  racial  solidarity.  Its  offspring,  the 
Jewish  Territorial  Organization,  which  aims  at  finding  a 
land  of  refuge  anywhere,  is  also  an  expression  of  solidarity, 
but  its  main  activity  is  that  of  an  emigration  agency,  and 
hence  it  more  properly  belongs  to  the  philanthropic 
category. 

Apart  from  the  regular  work  performed  by  these  various 
associations,  exceptional  measures  of  relief  have  to  be 
adopted  from  time  to  time.  The  Jewish  people  are 
peculiarly  exposed  to  chronic  catastrophes — a  pogrom  in 
Russia,  a  fire  in  a  Turkish  Ghetto,  or  a  famine  in  the  Holy 
Land  ;  and  the  cry  of  distress  that  then  rings  through 
the  Western  world  finds  immediate  response.  If  funds  are 


SOLIDARITY 


27 


wanted,  they  are  sent  quickly  and  liberally  ;  if  political 
protection  is  needed,  it  is  immediately  sought  from  the 
Government  that  has  the  greatest  influence  in  the  country 
affected.  So  promptly  do  the  leaders  of  Western  Jewry 
act  that  a  threatened  disaster  is  often  averted,  and  how¬ 
ever  great  and  urgent  the  demand  for  monetary  aid  may  be 
they  can  easily  satisfy  it.  In  acts  of  charity  they  are 
unsurpassed,  exercising  unsleeping  vigilance  over  their 
brethren  in  bondage,  but  they  have  not  yet  learned  that 
prevention  is  better  than  cure.  No  practical  attempt 
has  yet  been  made  to  unite  the  various  organizations  in 
order  to  devise  measures  for  diminishing  the  possibility  of 
misfortunes  in  the  future.  Co-operation  of  a  certain  kind 
does,  indeed,  take  place,  especially  in  regard  to  the  educa¬ 
tional  work  in  the  East  and  the  protection  of  the  emigrants 
who  wander  across  half  the  globe  in  search  of  a  home. 
International  conferences  have  also  been  held,  in  Paris, 
Berlin,  Frankfort,  and  Brussels,  but  they  were  summoned, 
with  one  exception,  to  deal  with  an  urgent  crisis — a  mass¬ 
acre  in  Russia,  a  sudden  exodus  from  Rumania.  They 
fulfilled  their  function,  they  afforded  temporary  measures 
of  relief,  but  they  achieved  nothing  permanent.  The  only 
attempt,  at  Brussels  in  1906,  to  create  a  general  organiza¬ 
tion  comprising  representatives  of  all  the  existing  bodies, 
to  deal  with  the  chronic  evils  of  the  Jewish  situation, 
proved  abortive.  The  imaginative  Anti-Semite  has  long 
babbled  of  an  international  Jewish  syndicate  hatching 
dark,  political  plots,  but  little  does  he  dream  how  Jews  in 
authority  recoil  from  the  mere  hint  of  a  cosmopolitan 
organization.  A  scheme  was  actually  proposed  a  few 
years  ago  for  the  creation  of  a  standing  committee  of 
representatives  of  the  philanthropic  and  political  bodies 
of  Europe  and  America,  to  meet  at  regular  intervals,  but 
it  was  received  with  scant  sympathy  in  influential  quarters. 
Even  an  alternative  scheme,  to  facilitate  rapidity  of  inter¬ 
communication  and  co-operation  in  cases  of  emergency, 
met  with  divided  approval ;  and  although  it  has  been 
recently  revived,  the  only  result  was  a  union  of  some  of 
the  philanthropic  organizations  to  carry  out  the  relief  of 


28 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  Jewish  victims  of  the  Balkan  War.  The  obstacles 
to  permanent  concerted  action  exist  partly  in  the  personal 
factor,  and  partly  in  the  policy  represented  by  most  of  the 
organizations,  that  each  country  has  its  own  individual 
Jewish  question  which  must  be  solved  separately  and 
locally.  The  only  body  that  has  had  the  sagacity  to 
perceive  the  organic  connexion  of  the  Jewish  problems  in 
the  various  lands  of  dispersion,  and  which  has  projected 
a  solution  upon  a  far-reaching  scale,  is  the  Zionist  Organiza¬ 
tion.  But  the  Zionists  form  only  a  fraction  of  the  Jewish 
people,  and  their  present  resources  are  painfully  meagre 
in  relation  to  the  stupendous  task  before  them.  A  union 
of  the  ideals  and  policy  of  Zionism  with  the  funds  and 
influence  of  the  philanthropic  associations,  aided  by  the 
combined  capital  of  the  great  Jewish  financial  houses, 
would  provide  the  most  potent  and  promising  basis  for 
achieving  a  speedy  solution  of  the  Jewish  question.  But 
a  practical  manifestation  of  catholic  solidarity  of  such 
magnitude,  embracing  the  sum  total  of  Jewish  power  and 
Jewish  idealism,  and  consecrated  to  the  realization  of 
Israel’s  highest  destinies,  remains  a  dream  of  the  future. 


BOOK  II 


THE  SOCIAL  ASPECT 


INTRODUCTION 


A  study  of  the  Social  Aspect  must  precede  that  of  other  aspects 
-The  sequence  of  social  phenomena  to  be  studied 

AVING  made  a  survey  of  the  far-spreading 
map  of  modern  Jewry  and  considered  its  three 
dominant  features,  we  shall  now  pursue  a 
series  of  detailed  investigations  into  the  main  aspects  of 
Jewish  life,  with  a  view  to  revealing  more  precisely  and 
intimately  the  conditions  which  it  assumes  in  different 
parts  of  the  world.  Our  first  inquiry  will  be  into  the 
Social  Aspect,  because  this  will  take  us  into  the  very 
midst  and  heart  of  the  people  themselves  and  make  us 
familiar  with  the  human  material  which  is  variously 
moulded  by  the  political  and  economic  forces,  and  by  the 
intellectual  and  religious  influences,  which  will  be  con¬ 
sidered  later.  It  is  true  that  the  social  conditions  of  the 
Jews  are  largely  affected  by  political  and  economic  cir¬ 
cumstances,  and  it  might  therefore  be  expected  that  the 
latter  should  be  treated  first ;  but  it  will  lead  to  a  better 
appreciation  of  both  if  we  first  study  the  lives  of  the 
Jews  in  their  homes  and  communities  before  examining 
their  relations  to  the  State  and  to  the  question  of  occupa¬ 
tion  and  livelihood.  Moreover,  owing  partly  to  the  fact 
that  many  features  of  their  social  life  are  fashioned  primarily 
by  religious  laws  and  traditions,  and  partly  to  the  fact 
that  over  two  and  a  half  million  natives  of  Eastern  Europe 
have  settled  in  masses  in  other  parts  of  the  world  during 
the  last  thirty  years,  there  is  a  greater  and  more  widespread 

29 


30 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


uniformity  in  their  social  life — regarded  in  its  widest 
sense — than  in  any  other  aspect  of  Jewish  life.  But  al¬ 
though  the  Social  Aspect  has  a  just  claim  to  be  treated 
first,  its  exposition  will  inevitably  be  interspersed  with 
references  and  allusions  to  other  aspects  so  far  as  necessary  ; 
for  in  Jewish  life  all  aspects  are  more  or  less  closely  inter¬ 
mingled  and  cannot  be  shut  off  into  water-tight  com¬ 
partments. 

In  the  ensuing  survey  we  shall  deal,  first  of  all,  with  the 
constitution  of  the  Jewish  community,  with  the  forces  that 
have  contributed  to  its  development  and  determined  its 
particular  character  in  different  countries,  and  with  the 
principal  features  that  distinguish  one  community  from 
another.  We  shall  then  describe  the  characteristics  of  the 
family,  the  features  and  customs  of  home  life,  philan¬ 
thropic  activity,  morality,  social  recreation,  and,  finally,  the 
racial  and  physical  characteristics  of  the  Jew. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  COMMUNITY 

The  community  as  the  conservator  of  Jewish  life — Variations 
among  modern  communities — Factors  determining  the  character 
of  a  community — Origin  of  Eastern  communities  and  their  character 
— Differences  between  Eastern  communities — The  voluntary 
character  of  Western  communities — Their  heterogeneity — The 
Western  Ghetto — The  Western  Ghetto,  a  half-way  house 

THE  corporate  life  of  the  Jewish  people  for  nearly 
two  thousand  years  has  been  founded  upon  a 
communal  basis.  Exiled  from  the  land  in  which 
they  had  developed  their  national  life,  and  dispersed  in  the 
process  of  ages  unto  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  they 
have  succeeded  in  preserving  most  of  the  distinctive  traits  of 
a  separate  people.  The  survival  of  these  traits  through  an 
endless  cycle  of  wanderings  and  persecutions  is  one  of  those 
strange  phenomena  that  challenge  the  analytic  power  of  the 
scientific  historian  and  that  are  popularly  attributed  to  the 
favour  of  Providence.  But  this  riddle  of  the  Jewish  per¬ 
sistence  can  be  explained  by  forces  and  factors  of  a  human 
order.  Those  forces  were  twofold,  internal  and  external. 
The  internal  force  was  the  attachment  to  a  religion  whose 
innumerable  prescriptions  controlled  and  coloured  the  life  of 
every  day  and  necessitated  close  congregation  ;  the  external 
force  was  the  oppression  which  compelled  the  Jews  to  live 
in  isolation  in  the  various  lands  of  their  dispersion.  In  some 
countries  the  isolation  was  only  social,  due  to  the  prevalence 
of  religious  prejudice  and  the  feudal  system  ;  in  others  it 
assumed  the  form  of  a  special  Jews’  quarter,  or  Ghetto, 
bounded  by  tall  gloomy  walls  and  barred  by  an  iron  gate. 
Within  the  communities  in  which  they  thus  dwelt,  especially 

in  Central  Europe,  they  enjoyed  a  certain  measure  of 

31 


32 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


autonomy  and  consolidated  their  social  organization. 
They  conserved  their  religious  rites  and  customs,  they 
developed  particular  institutions,  and  they  kept  alive  the 
traditional  culture,  the  racial  consciousness,  and  the 
national  genius  of  their  people. 

As  they  have  lived  throughout  their  dispersion,  so,  for 
the  most  part,  they  live  at  the  present  day — in  communities. 
These  communities  are,  with  very  few  exceptions,  of  an 
urban  character  ;  those  of  a  rural  character  comprise  little 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  Jews  altogether.  They 
exist  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  forming  an  integral  factor 
in  the  social  fabric  of  different  countries,  and  sometimes,  in 
Eastern  Europe,  occupying  the  greater  part  of  a  town  and 
giving  it  its  dominant  character.  In  these  settlements, 
differing  in  external  structure  and  internal  character,  the 
specific  life  of  Jewry  manifests  itself  in  countless  forms  and 
with  varying  intensity.  Where  the  Jewish  pulse  beats  most 
vigorously,  there  the  people  lead  a  life  distinct  from  that  of 
the  surrounding  nation,  not  merely  in  religious  observance, 
but  in  every  other  sphere  of  human  endeavour  and  aspira¬ 
tion.  They  confine  their  social  intercourse  for  the  most  part 
to  themselves;  they  organize  their  own  education,  industries, 
and  charities ;  pursue  their  own  intellectual  ideals,  and 
combine  occasionally  for  self-defence  in  the  political  arena, 
though  into  their  midst  inevitably  penetrate  echoes  and 
elements  of  the  national  life  around  them.  Even  where 
Jewish  life  is  at  its  lowest  ebb  there  will  be  found  a  synagogue 
which  provides  a  bond  of  union  among  those  who  still  wish 
to  remain  within  the  fold.  Where  there  is  no  synagogue  nor 
any  attempt  to  provide  a  substitute  there  may,  indeed,  be 
Jews,  but  there  is  no  Jewish  life  :  the  Jews  become  so 
many  indistinguishable  atoms  in  the  general  social  mass. 

The  most  important  factor  determining  the  constitution 
and  character  of  a  Jewish  community  is  environment,  and 
next  to  this  is  the  density  of  the  Jewish  population.  Either 
of  these  factors  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  engender  a  robust 
communal  spirit  ;  where  the  two  are  combined,  the  ideal 
conditions  are  present  for  a  vigorous  communal  life  in  its 
countless  ramifications.  These  ideal  conditions  are  found 


THE  JEWISH  QUARTER  IN  AMSTERDAM 

FROM  THE  PAINTING  BY  PROF.  MAX  LIEBERMANN 


. 

' 


THE  COMMUNITY 


33 


throughout  the  lands  of  the  East,  in  Asia  and  North  Africa, 
as  well  as  in  Eastern  Europe,  where  political  despotism  and 
religious  fervour  or  fanaticism  provide  a  favourable  soil  for 
separatist  settlements.  But  in  the  lands  of  the  West,  whether 
in  Europe,  America,  or  the  British  Colonies,  where  the 
Jews  enjoy  civil  and  political  freedom  in  varying  degree 
and  are  not  excluded  by  legal  barriers  from  social  inter¬ 
course  with  their  neighbours,  a  certain  compactness  of 
population  alone  can  give  substance  and  strength  to  com¬ 
munal  life.  Thus,  in  the  East  the  adhesion  to  separate 
communities  is  mostly  compulsory,  in  the  West  it  is  entirely 
voluntary.  Even  in  the  countries  of  Central  Europe,  where 
the  congregations  are  under  a  sort  of  State  supervision, 
every  Jew  can  please  himself  whether  he  joins  one  or  not. 

In  the  lands  of  the  East  the  communities  owed  their 
establishment  to  differences  of  religion,  to  the  sentiment 
of  national  separateness,  and  to  the  position  of  political 
servitude,  to  which,  with  occasional  intervals  of  clemency, 
the  Jews  were  mostly  condemned.  The  forces  that  brought 
them  into  being  in  the  early  ages,  and  which  preserved 
them  throughout  the  mediaeval  tribulations,  serve  to 
maintain  them  intact  at  the  present  day.  The  religious 
differences  have  lost  little  of  their  acuteness  in  the  process 
of  centuries  ;  the  sentiment  of  national  separateness  has 
been  deepened  by  the  accumulated  memories  and  traditions 
of  the  past  ;  while  the  political  despotism  of  mediaeval  days 
continues  for  the  most  part  to  hold  uninterrupted  sway. 
The  countries  in  which  these  conditions  prevail  in  varying 
degrees  contain  far  more  than  half  of  the  Jewish  people  : 
they  comprise  Russia,  Rumania,  Turkey  and  its  depend¬ 
encies,  Morocco,  Persia,  and  Afghanistan.  In  the  Ottoman 
Empire  the  establishment  of  constitutional  government  has 
removed  one  of  the  main  forces  favourable  to  segregation, 
but  the  effects  of  centuries  of  political  bondage  cannot  easily 
be  annulled.  In  the  other  countries,  however,  the  Jews 
still  live  in  a  state  of  outlawry,  unrelieved  by  the  revolutions 
that  have  taken  place  in  Russia,  Morocco,  and  Persia.  In 
Russia  they  are  mostly  confined  to  the  Pale  of  Settlement, 
where  again  they  are  limited  to  the  towns  ;  in  Rumania  too 

3 


34 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


they  are  confined  to  the  towns  ;  and  in  Morocco,  Persia, 
and  Afghanistan  they  must  live  in  Ghettos.  Sundered 
from  the  national  life  both  by  legal  and  physical  barriers 
they  are  thrown  back  upon  themselves  and  concentrate 
their  energy  upon  their  own  communal  interests. 

Jewish  life  in  these  Eastern  countries  has  all  the  intensity 
and  distinctiveness  of  the  life  of  an  independent  nation. 
Not  only  is  it  distinguished  by  its  own  traditions,  customs, 
and  institutions,  by  its  home  life  and  social  intercourse, 
but  also  by  language  and  occasionally  even  by  dress.  By 
reason  of  their  historic  migrations  and  communal  isolation, 
the  Jews  have  developed  new  languages  or  dialects  of  their 
own  which  are  written  in  Hebrew  characters.  The  most 
widely  spoken  of  these  idioms  is  Yiddish  or  Judeo-German, 
the  development  of  the  language  which  they  took  with  them 
from  Germany  on  their  eastward  migration  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  which  they  cultivated  on  Slavic  soil  with  graftings 
from  Hebrew,  and  which  is  now  spoken  not  only  through¬ 
out  the  Russian  Pale  of  Settlement  and  adjacent  lands, 
but  also  in  every  part  of  the  world  in  which  Russian  Jews 
have  settled.  In  the  greater  part  of  the  Ottoman  Empire, 
as  well  as  in  Bulgaria  and  Servia,  they  speak  Ladino  or 
Judeo-Spanish,  the  development  of  the  language  which 
they  carried  away  on  their  expulsion  from  Spain  in  1492,  and 
which  they  cultivated  on  Turkish  soil,  likewise  with  graftings 
from  Hebrew.  In  Arabic-speaking  countries,  from  Morocco 
to  Mesopotomia,  they  have  developed  a  peculiar  form  of 
Arabic  ;  in  Persia,  of  Persian,  and  in  Bokhara,  of  Bokharan. 
The  distinction  of  dress  is  by  no  means  so  marked  or  so 
prevalent  as  that  of  language.  In  Morocco  the  Jews  must 
arrange  the  folds  of  their  outer  garment  so  as  to  leave  only 
the  left  hand  free  ;  in  Persia  they  are  not  allowed  to  wear 
the  kolah,  the  national  head-dress.  In  Poland  and  Galicia 
they  voluntarily  wear  long  gaberdines  and  round  fur  hats, 
whilst  those  who  belong  to  the  sect  of  Chassidim  also  wear 
white  socks  into  which  they  tuck  the  bottom  of  their  trousers. 

There  are  two  other  features  which  Eastern  communities 
have  in  common  and  which  distinguish  them  from  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  West — their  homogeneity  and  their  poverty. 


THE  COMMUNITY 


35 


The  population  of  the  Eastern  communities  is  mostly  of  one 
kind  :  it  is  an  indigenous  population,  whose  history  dates 
back  many  hundreds  of  years  and  in  some  cases,  such  as 
Damascus  and  Cairo,  more  than  two  thousand  years.  It  is 
mainly  in  Palestine  that  the  Jewish  population  comprises 
different  elements,  originating  not  only  from  neighbouring 
countries  but  also  from  Russia  and  other  parts  of  the  world. 
As  for  the  poverty,  that  is  a  natural  product  of  the  political 
despotism  and  chronic  persecutions  that  hold  sway  in  these 
Eastern  regions. 

Similar  in  the  various  features  just  enumerated,  the 
communities  of  Eastern  Europe  differ  notably  from  those  of 
the  Orient  in  some  intellectual  and  physical  respects.  The 
former  are  distinguished  by  intellectual  vitality  and  physical 
mobility  ;  the  latter  by  intellectual  stagnation  and  physical 
inertia.  The  mental  torpor  of  the  East  has  been  gradually 
stirred  by  the  educational  labours  conducted  in  its  midst  by 
Western  J  ewry  ;  and  the  immobility  of  its  masses  has  also 
undergone  a  change  of  late,  particularly  in  Morocco,  where 
the  ravages  of  civil  war  have  inflicted  terrible  sufferings  upon 
the  Jews,  forcing  many  of  them  to  seek  a  home  in  Algeria, 
Egypt,  and  Palestine.  But  mental  and  physical  inertia 
are  still  the  general  characteristics  of  Eastern  Jewry.  On 
the  other  hand,  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe,  particularly  in 
Russia,  have  manifested  a  vigorous  intellectual  activity  by 
their  production  of  a  literature,  press,  and  drama  of  their 
own  ;  while  their  mobility  is  one  of  the  most  dominant 
factors  in  modern  life.  For  close  upon  thirty  years  the 
current  of  migration  has  flowed  steadily  from  Russia  and 
Rumania  westward,  leaving  a  deposit  in  its  course.  The 
primal  impetus  was  an  outbreak  of  persecution  ;  but  op¬ 
pression  is  now  such  a  normal  phenomenon  that  the  stream 
of  migration  flows  unceasingly.  The  communities  of  Eastern 
Europe  are  not  undergoing  a  depletion  of  numbers,  however, 
as  the  loss  through  emigration  is  more  than  compensated 
by  the  natural  increase.1  The  most  favoured  lands  of 

1  The  annual  increase  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  is  about  120,000  (2  per 
cent),  while  the  annual  emigration  is  estimated  at  100,000  (Mr.  Benjamin 
Grad  in  Jewish  Chronicle,  10th  April  1914). 


36 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


refuge  are  England,  America,  and  the  British  Colonies,  in 
which  populous  and  thriving  Jewish  centres  have  arisen. 

The  most  important  feature  that  distinguishes  the  com¬ 
munities  of  the  West  from  those  of  the  East  is  their  voluntary 
character.  There  is  no  legal  power  that  isolates  Jewry  from 
its  surroundings,  although  in  several  countries  on  the 
continent  of  Europe  the  ecclesiastical  administration  of  the 
community  is  to  a  certain  extent  still  under  the  supervision 
of  the  State.  The  spontaneous  character  of  Jewish  settle¬ 
ments  is  exemplified  most  forcibly  in  those  that  have 
sprung  up  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
England,  the  United  States,  and  the  British  Colonies.  The 
forces  that  have  contributed  to  their  foundation  were  mainly 
the  racial  and  the  religious  consciousness,  and  a  supple¬ 
mentary  cause  was  the  foreign  origin  of  the  founders  of  the 
community,  which  impelled  them  to  form  some  sort  of 
separate  association  in  the  beginning.  But  foreign  origin 
alone  would  not  have  sufficed  to  preserve  a  separate  com¬ 
munity,  for  prolonged  residence  and  commercial  intercourse 
tend  to  assimilate  its  members  to  the  dominant  nationality. 
The  vital  factors  in  its  preservation  were  the  historic  con¬ 
sciousness  that  differentiated  it  from  the  people  around  it, 
and  the  religious  consciousness  that  needed  for  its  mani¬ 
festation  a  place  of  worship  and  subsidiary  institutions. 
The  strength  of  these  factors  is  shown  in  the  size  and  solidity 
of  numberless  communities  in  the  lands  of  freedom,  made  up 
of  a  variety  of  special  institutions.  Of  these  the  first  in 
point  of  time  and  importance  is  the  synagogue,  after  which 
come  the  school  and  the  cemetery,  followed  by  societies 
for  charitable,  social,  intellectual,  professional,  and  even 
political  purposes,  according  as  the  numbers  and  needs 
of  the  community  increase  and  its  problems  develop. 
Communal  life  in  the  West  is  thus  built  up  on  a  voluntary 
basis,  and  is  independent  of  the  concentrated  settlement 
which  is  an  invariable  feature  of  all  Jewries  in  Eastern 
countries,  although  this  feature  is  also  found  very  fre¬ 
quently,  particularly  in  the  larger  and  old-established 
centres. 

Western  communities  differ  markedly  from  Eastern  in 


THE  COMMUNITY 


37 


another  respect,  as  they  generally  comprise  two  main 
sections — the  native  and  the  foreign,  the  latter  consisting 
mostly  of  immigrants  from  Russia,  Rumania,  and  Galicia, 
whilst  including  representatives  from  many  other  countries 
in  the  East.  The  native  section  lived  in  some  sort  of  con¬ 
centration  in  the  early  history  of  their  community,  within 
a  convenient  distance  of  the  synagogue  and  the  kosher 
butcher-shop  ;  but  a  rise  in  material  prosperity  would  be 
followed  by  removal  to  a  better  district,  where  a  new 
Jewish  area  might  be  created,  though  one  less  distinguished 
from  its  environment  by  external  tokens.  The  foreign 
section,  however,  live  in  a  state  of  dense  concentration. 
Their  poverty  makes  them  settle  in  a  poor  quarter  of  the 
town,  where  they  reproduce  the  social  conditions  in  which 
they  have  been  born  and  bred,  so  far  as  the  new  environ¬ 
ment  will  allow.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  live  as 
one  large  family,  speaking  the  same  tongue  and  breathing 
the  same  air,  and  all  revolving  around  the  synagogue,  which 
is  for  them  not  merely  a  house  of  worship  and  religious 
instruction,  but  a  centre  of  charity  and  of  social  intercourse  ; 
and  although  they  are  now  free  to  settle  wherever  they 
please,  they  cannot  easily  break  away  from  the  engrained 
habits  of  generations.  The  Ghetto  in  the  East  may  be  a 
symbol  of  political  bondage ;  but  in  the  West  the  only 
bondage  that  it  typifies  is  that  exercised  by  sentiment  and 
tradition.  To  a  large  extent  the  modern  Ghetto  is  neces¬ 
sitated  by  the  precepts  and  practices  of  orthodox  Judaism, 
by  the  need  of  dwelling  within  easy  reach  of  the  synagogue, 
the  schoolroom,  and  the  ritual  bath,  the  kosher  butcher- 
shop  and  the  kosher  dairy.  But  even  for  those  who  are 
indifferent  to  religious  observances  and  ritual  practices, 
residence  in  the  Ghetto  is  necessitated  by  social  and  economic 
circumstances.  Ignorance  of  the  language  of  the  new 
country,  of  its  labour  conditions,  and  of  its  general  habits 
and  ways  of  thought,  as  well  as  the  natural  timidity  of  a 
fugitive  from  a  land  of  persecution,  compels  the  immigrant 
Jew  to  settle  in  the  colony  of  his  co-religionists.  Among 
them  he  is  perfectly  at  home  :  he  finds  the  path  of  employ¬ 
ment  comparatively  smooth,  and  if  his  effort  to  attain  it  be 


38  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

delayed  he  is  helped  in  the  interval  by  charity  from  a  dozen 
hands. 

The  modern  Ghetto  is  found  in  most  of  the  large  cities  of 
Western  Europe,  America,  and  South  Africa,  its  rise  being 
due  to  the  chronic  persecution  of  the  last  thirty  years  in 
Russia  and  Rumania.  In  dimensions  it  is  generally  equal 
to,  and  occasionally  greater  than,  its  Eastern  prototype, 
the  Ghetto  of  New  York  being  the  largest  in  the  world. 
There  is  more  of  the  colour  and  intensity  of  Jewish  life  in 
the  Ghetto  than  in  the  rest  of  the  community.  Innumerable 
blocks  of  mean  houses,  covering  a  wide  area,  are  wholly 
inhabited  by  immigrant  Jews,  who  swarm  into  the  streets, 
talking  their  strange  tongue,  and  sometimes  still  clad  in 
the  peaked  hat  and  top-boots  of  their  native  countries. 
The  streets  are  lined  with  shops  and  restaurants  bearing 
foreign  names  and  Hebrew  signs  ;  the  walls  are  covered 
with  multi-coloured  posters  in  Yiddish ;  the  gutters  are 
occupied  by  rows  of  stalls  and  barrows,  laden  with  exotic 
wares.  In  the  larger  centres  there  are  special  market-places 
which  present  a  scene  of  tremendous  bustle  on  the  eve  of 
Sabbaths  and  festivals,  when  every  Jewish  housewife  lays 
in  a  store  of  fish  and  fowl  to  celebrate  the  sacred  day  with 
fitting  honours.  Newsboys  rush  through  the  motley  crowd, 
crying  the  names  of  Yiddish  papers  ;  a  stringed  band  at  a 
street  corner  discourses  some  haunting  Hebrew  melody  ;  a 
poor  woman,  with  a  child  at  her  breast,  sings  a  Yiddish  song 
of  sadness  ;  a  blind  man  offers  for  sale  the  little  four- 
cornered  fringed  garments  prescribed  in  Deuteronomy  ;  a 
peripatetic  bookseller  proffers  religious  code-books  and 
sensational  romances  ;  a  labour  agitator  harangues  a  knot 
of  workmen  ;  an  unctuous  missionary  quotes  the  New 
Testament  in  Yiddish  and  seeks  to  lure  his  hearers  to 
apostasy  ;  a  Zionist  orator  waxes  eloquent  over  the  glories 
of  a  rejuvenated  Judaea.  Synagogues  great  and  small, 
houses  of  Talmudic  study,  big  religious  seminaries  that 
resound  with  boyish  voices  chanting  the  Torah,  and  little 
private  schools  tucked  away  in  fifth-floor  back-rooms, 
religious  "  courts  of  judgment  ”  and  libraries,  baths, 
hospitals,  and  dispensaries,  clubs,  theatres,  and  dancing- 


THE  COMMUNITY 


39 


halls,  asylums  for  newly-arrived  immigrants,  for  the  poor 
and  the  aged — these  and  countless  other  institutions  make 
up  the  compact  variegated  fabric  of  the  modern  Ghetto. 

But  the  inhabitants  of  the  Western  Ghetto  are  never 
permanent  inmates  ;  they  use  it  at  most  as  a  half-way  house, 
as  a  transitional  stage  between  East  and  West.  The 
influences  from  without  penetrate  slowly  and  subtly,  luring 
the  Jew  into  the  outer  world.  By  dint  of  industry,  sobriety, 
and  thrift  he  improves  his  worldly  position  and  moves  to  a 
more  spacious  quarter.  By  that  time  he  will  have  mastered 
the  vernacular  and  become  pretty  familiar  with  the  principal 
conditions  of  his  adopted  fatherland.  He  possesses  a  here¬ 
ditary  gift  for  adaptability,  which  is  stimulated  by  his  native 
co-religionists,  who  make  "  Anglicization  ”  or  “  American¬ 
ization/’  or  whatever  else  the  local  term  may  be,  a  cardinal 
principle  in  their  communal  policy.1  The  actual  immigrant 
from  the  East  who  settles  in  a  Western  Ghetto  may,  by 
reason  of  age,  poverty,  or  prejudice,  remain  there  and  die 
there.  But  his  children  very  seldom,  perhaps  never,  do  so  : 
their  modern  education  weakens  the  sentimental  attachment 
to  the  Ghetto,  and  they  prefer  to  live  farther  afield  and  enjoy 
a  sense  of  actual  equality  with  their  non- Jewish  neighbours. 
This  steady  migration  of  the  children  of  the  Ghetto  into  the 
outer  circle  of  the  communal  area  exercises  a  conservative 
influence  upon  religious  conformity  and  Jewish  life  in 
general,  which  are  everywhere  exposed  to  the  corroding 
effects  of  a  Western  environment.  But  simultaneously  with 
the  outflow  from  the  Ghetto  there  is  a  regular  influx  from 
Eastern  Europe,  which  is  impelled  by  the  forces  of  oppression 
and  will  continue  as  long  as  those  forces  prevail.  Nothing 
but  the  grant  of  complete  equality  to  the  Jews  of  Eastern 
Europe  can  check  the  current  of  migration  and  the  growth 
of  Western  Ghettos.  Such  an  act  of  justice  would  have 
far-reaching  results  :  it  would  ensure  the  material  advance¬ 
ment  of  those  who  have  hitherto  been  downtrodden,  but  it 
would  also  deprive  Western  Jewry  of  those  successive  bands 
of  pietists  who  contribute  so  greatly  to  its  conservation. 

1  Cf.  “The  Problems  of  Anglicisation,"  by  the  Rev.  S.  Levy,  M.  A.,  in  Pro¬ 
ceedings  of  the  Second  Conference  of  Anglo- Jewish  Ministers,  London,  1911- 


CHAPTER  II 


TEIE  FAMILY 

The  importance,  of  the  family  in  Jewry — The  age  of  marriage — 
Marriages  in  the  East  and  in  the  West — Betrothal — Religious 
celebrations — The  legal  aspect — The  social  celebration — The  desire 
for  children — Customs  at  birth — Religious  rites  at  birth — The 
ceremony  of  “  confirmation  ” 

t  |~^HE  family  possesses  more  than  ordinary  import- 
■  ance  in  J ewish  life,  for  it  is  the  bond  of  cohesion 

JL  which  has  safeguarded  the  purity  of  the  race  and 
the  continuity  of  religious  tradition.  It  is  the  stronghold 
of  Jewish  sentiment,  in  which  Jewish  life  unfolds  itself  in 
its  most  typical  forms  and  intimate  phases.  To  found  a 
family  is  regarded  not  merely  as  a  social  ideal  but  as  a 
religious  duty.  The  Rabbis  declared  that  the  first  affirma¬ 
tive  precept  in  the  Bible  was  the  injunction  “  Be  fruitful 
and  multiply,”  and  they  invested  marriage  with  the  highest 
communal  significance.  They  despised  the  bachelor  and 
pitied  the  spinster.  Only  he  who  had  founded  a  house 
in  Israel  was  worthy  to  be  considered  a  full-fledged  member 
of  the  community  ;  only  she  who  had  become  a  mother  in 
Israel  had  realized  her  destiny.  This  view  has  become 
modified  in  modern  times,  though  family  life  still  enjoys 
much  of  its  traditional  importance  in  Jewry. 

The  Rabbis  of  ancient  times  prescribed  the  eighteenth 
year  as  the  age  for  marriage.  This  principle  is  still  followed 
in  the  Russian  Pale,  in  Galicia  and  in  Palestine,  while 
in  other  Eastern  countries,  Morocco,  Persia,  and  India, 
marriage  often  takes  place  even  earlier.  In  Russia  political 
conditions  have  combined  with  moral  considerations  to 
produce  early  marriages,  for  married  men  are  exempt 

40 


THE  FAMILY 


4i 


from  military  service,  and  the  father  who  has  a  dowry  for 
his  daughter  seeks  to  secure  her  marriage  before  the  dot 
can  be  imperilled  by  a  riot.  In  Western  countries,  how¬ 
ever,  early  marriages  are  rendered  less  frequent  by  pru¬ 
dential  considerations,  though  the  traditional  ideal  of 
family  life  acts  as  a  check  upon  a  distant  postponement. 
In  orthodox  circles  early  marriages,  particularly  of  the 
daughters,  are  fairly  frequent,  but  in  households  long 
established  in  a  Western  environment  the  age  for  marriage 
approximates  to  that  among  the  general  population. 

In  Eastern  countries,  such  as  Morocco,  Persia,  and 
India,  the  marriage  is  arranged  by  the  parents  of  the  young 
couple,  who  submissively  acquiesce  in  their  fate.  In 
Eastern  Europe  the  parental  negotiations  are  preceded  by 
the  activity  of  a  matrimonial  agent,  who  is  rendered  neces¬ 
sary  by  the  segregation  of  the  sexes  still  observed  in  most 
of  the  communities  in  Eastern  Europe.  The  Shadchan, 
as  he  is  called,  is  a  prized  visitor  in  the  home  of  every 
marriageable  girl,  whose  chances  depend,  apart  from 
natural  charms,  upon  the  size  of  her  dowry  and  the  family 
reputation  for  piety,  learning,  and  philanthropy.  The 
highest  virtue  of  the  bridegroom  is  excellence  in  Talmudic 
study,  which  surpasses  in  value  a  splendid  pedigree  or  a 
dazzling  income  bedimmed  with  ignorance.  In  most  of 
the  teeming  communities  of  Russian  and  Galician  Jewry 
the  father  still  regards  sacred  learning  as  the  noblest  pos¬ 
session  in  a  son-in-law,  and  if  he  can  ally  his  daughter  to  a 
budding  Rabbi  he  believes  the  union  will  find  especial 
grace  in  Heaven.  The  lack  of  worldly  means  on  the  part 
of  the  bridegroom  forms  no  deterrent,  for  it  is  customary  for 
the  father  of  the  bride  to  keep  his  son-in-law  in  his  own 
house  for  the  first  two  years  after  marriage,  and  then  to 
set  him  up  in  a  home  and  business  of  his  own.  The 
services  of  the  Shadchan  are  in  constant  demand  :  his  area 
of  operations  extends  throughout  the  Russian  Pale  and 
even  across  the  frontier  into  Galicia,  Rumania,  and  more 
distant  lands.  The  couples  whom  he  brings  together 
hardly  know  one  another  before  marriage  and  sometimes 
see  each  other  for  the  first  time  on  their  wedding-day,  but 


42 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


their  happiness  is  generally  assured  by  their  youth,  the 
absence  of  a  previous  attachment,  and  the  fact  that  marriage 
affords  them  the  first  opportunity  of  cultivating  the  senti¬ 
ment  of  love. 

In  the  West  the  arrangement  of  marriages  tends  to 
vary  approximately  in  accordance  with  local  customs  and 
conditions,  the  freedom  of  intercourse  between  the  sexes 
allowing  of  the  natural  development  of  personal  affinities. 
The  Talmudic  scholarship  of  a  young  man  enjoys  little  or 
no  importance  in  the  marriage-market  :  its  place  is  taken 
by  secular  scholarship  and  scientific  distinction,  particu¬ 
larly  in  Austria  and  Germany.  But  the  decisive  element 
in  the  bridegroom’s  eligibility  is  his  worldly  position  and 
prospects,  whilst  the  bride  must,  like  her  sister  in  the 
Russian  Pale,  be  provided  with  a  dowry.  Despite  the 
free  conditions  of  the  West  and  the  vogue  of  matrimonial 
advertisements  in  German  countries,  the  Shadchan  still 
plays  an  important  part,  and  in  America  he  is  even  insured 
by  the  contracting  parties  against  a  breach  of  promise. 
But,  on  the  whole,  Western  Jewry  is  divided  from  Eastern 
Jewry  in  the  facility  of  marriages  of  affection  as  well  as 
in  the  care  exercised  to  prevent  improvident  unions.  In 
the  East  the  religious  importance  attaching  to  marriage, 
the  stigma  attaching  to  celibacy,  and  the  deep-rooted 
faith  in  God  as  the  bountiful  Provider  of  daily  needs, 
usually  outweigh  material  considerations,  but  in  the  West 
the  material  sustenance  of  wedded  life  must  first  be  assured. 
This  difference  of  attitude  results  not  only  in  the  postpone¬ 
ment  of  marriage  in  the  West,  but  also  in  the  increase  of 
celibacy,  a  tendency  which  is  favoured  by  the  sense  of 
independence  acquired  by  women  who  earn  their  own 
living  and  who  find  therein  a  source  of  consolation  or 
distraction  not  open  to  their  sisters  in  the  East.  Thus, 
the  economic  conditions  of  the  modern  world  tend  to  modify 
profoundly  the  traditional  ideals  of  family  life. 

In  ancient  times  the  ceremony  of  betrothal  (erusin) 
consisted  in  the  signing  of  a  contract  which  could  be  set 
aside  only  by  formal  divorce,  and  it  was  followed  twelve 
months  after  by  marriage  ( nissuin ,  “  home-taking  ”).  But 


THE  FAMILY 


43 


when  the  Jews  became  dispersed  among  the  nations  they 
found  this  custom  inexpedient,  and  so  combined  the  two 
ceremonies  in  the  marriage  service.  A  Jewish  betrothal 
now,  therefore,  is  simply  the  ordinary  engagement  in  the 
West,  though  it  receives  a  religious  sanction  in  the  syna¬ 
gogue,  in  which  the  bridegroom,  on  the  Sabbath  following, 
is  called  up  to  the  reading  of  the  Law.  Should  the  promise 
of  marriage  be  unfulfilled,  the  girl  who  desires  compensation 
must  resort  to  the  law  of  the  land  ;  but  she  is  generally 
restrained  from  such  a  step  by  modesty  and  prudence,  as 
her  plight  would  become  the  talk  of  the  community. 

The  religious  solemnization  of  marriage  is,  in  its  essential 
features,  the  same  in  all  communities  ;  its  festive  celebra¬ 
tion  differs  very  widely  according  to  environment.  In 
orthodox  circles  the  bride  takes  a  ritual  bath  the  day  before 
the  marriage,  and  both  the  bride  and  bridegroom  fast  on 
their  wedding-day  until  the  festal  repast,  in  expiation  of 
their  sins.  The  scene  of  the  nuptial  ceremony  is  usually  in 
the  synagogue,  where  the  rule  as  to  the  separation  of  the 
sexes  is  relaxed  for  the  nonce.  The  young  couple  take 
their  places  beneath  a  canopy  ( chuppah )  before  the  Ark 
of  the  Law,  supported  by  their  respective  sponsors,  who 
are  known  as  Unterfiihrer,  and  accompanied  in  Western 
countries  by  such  conventional  auxiliaries  as  best  man, 
bridesmaids,  and  even  page-boys.  The  Rabbi  recites  the 
marriage-benediction,  offers  a  cup  of  wine  to  bride  and 
bridegroom,  and  then  the  latter,  placing  a  ring  upon  the 
bride’s  finger,  makes  the  declaration  :  “  Lo,  thou  art  dedi¬ 
cated  unto  me  by  this  ring  according  to  the  Law  of  Moses 
and  Israel.”  The  marriage  contract,  which  is  an  Aramaic 
composition  on  parchment,  is  read ;  the  celebrant  utters 
seven  blessings  over  a  second  cup  of  wine  ;  the  bridegroom 
crushes  a  glass  under  his  foot  as  a  symbol  of  grief  for  the 
loss  of  Zion  ;  and  the  celebrant  pronounces  the  benediction. 

Compliance  with  the  marriage  law  of  the  land  is  naturally 
insisted  upon  by  the  religious  authorities,  but  in  very  poor 
circles  in  Eastern  Europe  the  act  of  marriage  is  sometimes 
confined  to  a  private  ceremony  (stille  Chasunah)  at  home, 
which  is  solemnized  by  an  impecunious  Rabbi,  and  the 


44 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


legal  formality  of  registration  is  omitted.  Such  marriages, 
however,  are  on  the  decrease  owing  to  a  growing  knowledge 
of  the  perils  involved  by  illegitimacy.  No  alliance  may 
take  place  between  a  member  of  the  Jewish  faith  and  a 
Gentile,  unless  the  latter  previously  becomes  a  proselyte ; 
nor  between  a  member  of  the  priestly  caste  (a  Cohen) 
and  a  widow  or  a  divorced  woman.  Marriage  with  a 
brother’s  widow,  which,  when  there  was  no  issue,  was 
regarded  as  obligatory  in  the  Bible  times  (Deut.  xxv.  5,  6), 
is  generally  discountenanced,  and  the  ceremony  for  evad¬ 
ing  the  obligation  (haliza h,  “-taking  off  the  shoe”) is  observed 
pretty  widely  (Deut.  xxv.  7-10),  except  in  Reform  circles. 

In  Oriental  countries  the  wedding  festivities  continue 
several  days,  and  the  bride  is  led  to  the  home  of  her  husband 
amid  the  gladsome  acclaim  of  an  animated  throng.  In 
Russia  and  Galicia,  particularly  in  the  townlets  with  a 
tense  Jewish  atmosphere,  the  feast  is  prolonged  to  a  late 
hour,  while  profound  discourses  on  Talmudic  themes  are 
delivered  not  only  by  the  Rabbis  present,  but  also  by  the 
bridegroom,  who,  apparently,  is  expected  to  be  so  free 
from  the  exciting  emotions  of  his  new  estate  as  to  be  able 
to  hold  forth  for  an  hour  upon  some  controversial  theological 
topic.  Entertainment  of  a  lighter  kind  is  provided  by  a 
party  of  fiddlers  ( Klesmer ),  one  of  whom,  the  jester  ( Badhan 
or  Marschalik),  improvises  songs  and  japes,  and  addresses 
the  bride  in  a  mock-serious  oration  which  reduces  her  to 
tears  by  depicting  the  trials  awaiting  the  virtuous  house¬ 
wife  in  Israel.  In  Western  countries  a  dinner  and  ball 
are  considered  in  the  middle  classes  the  requisite  features 
of  a  fashionable  celebration,  and  in  each  locality  a  recognized 
code  or  ritual  is  scrupulously  observed.  On  the  Continent, 
particularly  in  Germany,  it  is  customary  to  perform  an 
amateur  play  gently  satirizing  the  foibles  of  the  young 
couple  and  their  families.  The  honeymoon,  which  is  un¬ 
known  in  Eastern  Jewry,  is  cultivated  throughout  the 
West  by  all  whose  means  allow  them  the  luxury,  but  in 
conforming  families  it  is  postponed  until  after  the  Sabbath 
following  the  wedding,  as  a  domestic  celebration,  known 
as  the  “  Seven  Blessings,”  is  observed  on  the  Day  of  Rest. 


A  JEWISH  WEDDING 


FROM  THE  PAINTING  BY  JOSEF  ISRAELS 


THE  FAMILY 


45 


No  marriage  is  considered  blessed  that  has  no  issue  ; 
no  family  is  considered  complete  without  children.  The 
maternal  instinct  of  the  Jewess  is  not  only  a  natural  emotion, 
but  a  traditional  ideal,  illustrated  in  the  prayer  of  Hannah. 
The  simple  and  essential  conditions  of  domestic  bliss 
are  picturesquely  phrased  by  the  Psalmist  :  “  Thy  wife 
shall  be  as  a  fruitful  vine,  in  the  innermost  parts  of  thine 
house  :  thy  children  like  olive  plants,  round  about  thy 
table.”  A  husband  is  entitled  to  a  divorce  after  ten  years 
if  the  marriage  has  been  childless,  and  hence  among  the 
poor  pious  classes  in  Eastern  Europe  a  childless  wife  will 
perform  all  manner  of  virtuous  deeds  to  secure  the  favour 
of  motherhood  and  even  consult  a  “  good  Jew,”  a  man 
versed  in  Cabbalistic  lore  and  reputed  to  possess  the 
miraculous  power  of  the  Baal  Shem,  the  founder  of  the 
Chassidic  sect  in  the  eighteenth  century.1  There  is  also 
a  religious  reason  for  desiring  an  heir,  for  it  is  the  duty 
of  a  son  to  honour  his  parents’  memory  after  death  by 
reciting  a  special  prayer  (Kaddish,  “sanctification”)  to 
which  profound — and  almost  superstitious — importance  is 
attached.  The  desire  for  children  is  generally  gratified, 
often  in  an  abundant  measure,  though  large  families  are 
becoming  infrequent  in  the  West,  where  prudential  con¬ 
siderations  prevail. 

The  birth  of  a  child  is  attended  by  a  number  of  customs, 
partly  religious  and  partly  superstitious,  though  the  latter 
are  confined  mostly  to  communities  in  Eastern  Europe 
and  the  Orient.  In  ignorant  families  there  still  prevails 
a  belief  in  the  power  of  Lilith  over  new-born  babes,  and 
her  sinister  influence  is  exorcised  by  a  display  of  charms 
and  amulets  on  the  walls  of  the  sick-chamber.  These 
charms  are  mostly  in  the  form  of  Hebrew  leaflets,  bearing 
verses  from  the  Psalms  and  an  invocation  to  the  guardian 
angels,  which  are  hung  near  the  door  or  window.  During 
the  first  eight  days  of  its  life,  and  in  some  places  even  for 
the  first  thirty  days,  the  child  is  protected  from  benemmerin 

1  Israel  b.  Eliezer,  of  Miedzyboz  (Poland),  1700-1760,  who  was  credited 
with  the  power  of  working  miracles  by  the  name  of  God,  and  hence  was 
known  as  the  Baal  Shem  Tob  (“  Master  of  the  Good  Name  ”). 


46 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


(“  pixies  ”)  by  a  group  of  young  school-children  who  recite 
the  evening  prayers  in  the  lying-in  chamber  under  the 
supervision  of  a  teacher.  In  parts  of  Germany,  in  Ru¬ 
mania,  the  Caucasus,  and  the  Orient  there  are  other  peculiar 
customs  for  the  protection  of  mother  and  child. 

The  birth  of  a  boy  is  usually  greeted  with  greater  joy 
than  that  of  a  girl.  The  reasons  are  partly  social,  partly 
religious,  and  partly  economic.  The  Oriental  view  of  the 
inferiority  of  woman  still  largely  colours  the  philosophy 
of  Eastern  Jewry.  The  religious  pre-eminence  of  man 
consists  in  his  being  able  to  perform  so  many  more  com¬ 
mandments,  Scriptural  and  Rabbinical,  than  the  woman  ; 
and  his  economic  advantage  is  particularly  enhanced  in  a 
community  in  which  the  arrival  of  every  daughter  involves 
the  saving  up  of  a  dowry.  The  principal  custom  connected 
with  the  birth  of  a  male  child  is  the  “  Covenant  of  the 
circumcision,’ ’  which  takes  place  on  the  eighth  day  at 
home,  but  in  orthodox  circles  occasionally  in  the  synagogue, 
when  the  day  falls  on  the  New  Year  or  the  Day  of  Atone¬ 
ment.  The  operation  requires  expert  surgical  skill, 
and  hence  in  Western  countries  a  Jewish  doctor  is  pre¬ 
ferred  to  a  Mohel,  or  practitioner,  who  only  possesses  an 
ecclesiastical  licence.  The  infant  is  borne  from  its  mother’s 
room  by  its  godmother,  who  places  it  on  the  lap  of  its  god¬ 
father,  where  the  operation  is  performed  and  the  child  is 
named.  The  ceremony  is  celebrated  by  a  breakfast,  at 
which  in  orthodox  circles  the  speeches  often  take  the  form 
of  Talmudical  discourses.  A  first-born  son  is  liable  to  a 
further  ceremony,  for  on  the  thirty-first  day  of  his 
birth  (Ex.  xiii.  2,  and  Num.  xviii.  16),  he  must  be  re¬ 
deemed  from  a  hypothetical  sanctification  to  God  by  the 
payment  of  five  selaim  or  silver  coins  (reckoned  at  fifteen 
shillings)  by  the  father  to  a  Cohen ,  or  priest.  The  “  re¬ 
demption  of  the  son  ”  is  made  the  occasion  of  a  happy 
gathering,  generally  in  the  evening,  and  the  money  received 
by  the  Cohen  is  usually  devoted  to  charity.  In  comparison 
with  these  various  customs  the  formal  reception  of  a 
female  child  into  the  community  is  simplicity  itself.  It 
consists  of  an  announcement  of  her  birth  and  Hebrew  name 


THE  FAMILY 


47 


in  the  synagogue  on  the  following  Sabbath  morning.  But 
even  this  simple  custom  is  falling  into  desuetude  in  Western 
Jewry,  and  the  registration  of  the  birth  at  the  office  of  the 
civil  authority  is  frequently  deemed  sufficient. 

There  is  still  another  family  celebration,  when  a  boy 
on  completing  his  thirteenth  year  publicly  assumes  religious 
responsibility,  and  is  styled  a  “  Son  of  the  commandment  ” 
( Bar  Mitzvah).  The  rite,  known  in  Western  countries  as 
“  Confirmation,”  is  of  an  essentially  religious  character, 
but  its  domestic  celebration  enjoys  at  least  equal  if  not 
greater  importance.  On  the  Sabbath  after  his  thirteenth 
birthday,  the  boy  is  called  up  to  the  reading  of  the  Law  in 
the  synagogue,  and  cantillates  a  portion  in  the  traditional 
melody  ;  while  his  father  offers  up  a  benediction  for  being 
exempted  from  future  responsibility  for  the  lad’s  religious 
conformity.  The  event  is  celebrated  at  home  mostly 
by  a  breakfast,  at  which  many  speeches  are  delivered, 
including  one  by  the  boy  himself,  which,  in  orthodox 
families,  consists  of  a  Talmudical  discourse  learned  by 
rote.  In  Western  countries,  the  traditional  breakfast 
has  given  way  to  an  afternoon  reception,  at  which  the 
boy’s  presents  are  displayed.  Orthodoxy  knows  of  no 
counterpart  to  this  ceremony  in  the  case  of  a  girl,  but  the 
Reformers  have  instituted  confirmation  services  for  girls, 
who  are  dressed  for  the  occasion  in  a  white  frock,  and  in 
some  countries  also  in  a  bridal  wreath  and  train,  and  who 
receive  gifts  from  relations  and  friends  in  honour  of  the 
event. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  HOME  :  EXTERNAL  FEATURES 

The  atmosphere  in  the  home — Distinctive  symbols — Pictures — 
Books — Kitchen  arrangements — Dietary  regulations — Peculiarities 
of  the  cuisine — The  cuisine  as  a  distinctive  element  in  Jewish  life 
— Distinctions  of  dress  and  of  hair 

THE  essential  qualities  of  Jewish  life  are  seen  in 
their  purest  and  most  intimate  form  in  the  privacy 
of  the  home.  The  atmosphere  of  a  Jewish  abode 
of  the  traditional  type  is  diffused  primarily  by  the  precepts 
and  practices  of  religion,  which  colour  and  control  most  of 
the  daily  activities  of  the  Jew  and  surround  him  with  con¬ 
crete  tokens  of  his  faith.  Many  of  his  domestic  customs 
and  observances  are  prescribed  in  the  Shulchan  Aruch,  the 
code  of  orthodoxy,  and  thus  bear  a  religious  impress  ;  but 
they  are  for  the  most  part  the  social  habits  of  a  people  which 
has  preserved  a  distinct  individuality  through  centuries  of 
exile.  This  distinct  individuality  is  embodied  in  matters 
both  material  and  intellectual,  such  as  the  kitchen  and  table 
arrangements,  food  and  dress,  pictures  and  books,  speech 
and  song.  It  is  found  in  the  fullest  degree  in  the  com¬ 
munities  of  Eastern  Europe,  as  well  as  in  those  Western 
centres  where  traditional  orthodoxy  still  holds  sway. 
But  it  appears  in  a  very  attenuated  degree  in  the  houses  of 
a  great  and  growing  mass  of  Western  Jews,  who  tend  to 
suppress  the  signs  and  symbols  of  their  Judaism  and  to 
mould  their  lives  after  the  prevalent  fashion.  The  picture 
that  will  be  drawn  here  will  be  that  of  a  home  in  which 
most  of  the  salient  features  of  traditional  Jewish  life  find 
normal  expression. 

The  first  distinctive  symbol  greets  one  at  the  very 

48 


THE  HOME :  EXTERNAL  FEATURES 


49 


threshold,  namely,  the  Mezuzah  {lit.,  “  door-post  ”),  a  small 
tubular  case  of  wood  or  metal,  fixed  slantwise  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  right-hand  door-post.  The  case  contains 
a  rolled  piece  of  parchment  on  which  are  written  Scriptural 
verses  enjoining  the  love  of  God  and  obedience  to  His 
commandments  (Deut.  vi.  4-9,  xi.  13-21),  and  there  is  a 
small  opening  showing  the  word  Shaddai  {“  Almighty  ”) 
written  on  the  back  of  the  scroll.  This  symbol  is  prescribed 
in  the  words  :  “  And  thou  shalt  write  them  on  the  door¬ 
posts  of  thy  house,  and  upon  thy  gates  ”  (Deut.  vi.  9,  xi.  20). 
It  is  fixed  not  only  on  the  street  door,  but  on  the  door  of 
every  living  room  in  the  house,  and  whenever  the  pious 
pass  the  Mezuzah,  they  touch  it  and  kiss  their  fingers. 
The  conforming  J  ew  celebrates  his  entry  into  a  new  house 
by  a  religious  ceremony  of  dedication,  accompanied  by  a 
friendly  reunion  at  which  a  Talmudical  discourse  is  held. 
Sometimes  he  will  leave  an  unpapered  patch  011  one  of  the 
walls  as  a  sign  of  grief  for  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
and  he  may  nail  a  round  piece  of  Matzah  {“  Passover 
cake  ”)  above  the  mantelpiece  as  a  constant  reminder  of 
the  Exodus  (Deut.  xvi.  3).  Various  articles  for  ritual 
purposes  are  also  displayed — the  glistening  candlesticks 
to  welcome  Sabbaths  and  festivals,  the  plaited  taper  and 
artistically  wrought  spice-box  used  in  the  service  for 
ushering  them  out,  the  goblet  of  gold  or  silver  or  baser 
metal  for  the  benedictions  over  wine  essential  to  these  holy 
days,  and  the  eight-branched  candlestick  for  the  Feast  of 
Dedication  (Chanucah).  Another  conspicuous  feature  is  the 
charity-box  nailed  to  the  wall  in  aid  either  of  local  phil¬ 
anthropy,  or  one  of  the  many  charities  in  Palestine.  In 
recent  years  the  “  Jewish  National  Fund  ”  box,  distributed 
by  the  Zionist  Organization  for  the  collection  of  money 
to  buy  land  in  Palestine,  has  also  become  a  familiar  object. 

The  walls  are  adorned  with  designs  and  pictures  re¬ 
flecting  a  cherished  tradition  or  illustrating  a  hallowed 
scene  or  revered  personality.  A  favourite  design  con¬ 
sists  of  two  intertwined  triangles,  called  the  "  Shield  of 
David  ”  ( Magen  David),  and  employed  both  in  domestic 
and  synagogue  adornment.  The  usual  decorations  par- 

4 


50 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


ticularly  in  Eastern  Europe,  are  legendary  portraits  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  crudely  coloured  views  of  Palestine,  a 
permanent  Hebrew  calendar  of  perplexing  elaborateness, 
a  Jahrzeit  tablet  in  simple  black  frame  recording  in  Hebrew 
the  anniversary  of  a  parent’s  death,  and  a  micrographic 
representation  either  of  Moses  with  horned  forehead,  or  of 
the  Cave  of  Machpelah,  or  of  some  other  revered  person 
or  place.  Portraits  of  distinguished  Rabbis  and  of  eminent 
Jews  who  have  laboured  for  the  salvation  of  their  people, 
such  as  Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  Baron  Maurice  de  Hirsch, 
and  Dr.  Theodor  Herzl,  likewise  have  an  honoured  place 
even  in  the  humblest  home  ;  and  the  innate  patriotism  of 
the  Jew  finds  expression  even  in  the  land  of  bondage,  for 
in  the  abode  of  nearly  every  Russian  Jew  is  a  portrait  of 
the  Tsar.  In  Germany  some  of  the  most  familiar  pictures 
are  scenes  of  Jewish  domestic  life  and  religious  celebration 
drawn  by  the  eighteenth-century  artist  Oppenheim,  and 
in  recent  years  there  has  been  a  steady  increase  of  pictures 
portraying  modern  Jewish  life  in  all  its  phases. 

The  books  have  also  a  character  of  their  own.  The 
nucleus  of  every  library  in  a  typical  orthodox  household 
is  a  Hebrew  collection  consisting  primarily  of  prayer- 
books  for  various  occasions  and  Pentateuchs,  worn  with 
use  and  seared  with  age.  The  usual  edition  of  the  Torah 
or  Pentateuch  is  in  five  volumes,  each  containing  the 
Aramaic  Targum  and  an  array  of  mediaeval  commentaries. 
The  other  Hebrew  works  are  the  Old  Testament,  the 
Talmud,  the  Mishnah,  and  the  Shulchan  Aruch,  each  in 
several  volumes  ;  whilst  a  larger  collection  will  comprise 
books  in  every  branch  of  theological  lore  and  religious 
legislation.  The  favourite  volume  of  the  orthodox  Jewess 
of  Eastern  Europe  is  a  Yiddish  paraphrase  of  the  Penta¬ 
teuch,  called  T eutsch-Chumesh  or  Zeenah  Ureenah,1  em¬ 
bodying  many  legends  and  homilies.  There  are  also  secular 
works  in  Hebrew  and  Yiddish  comprising  history,  science, 
fiction,  and  poetry  ;  whilst  the  library  of  the  scholar  also 
contains  many  modern  scientific  works  in  various  languages 
on  Jewish  history,  literature,  theology,  and  sociology. 

1  ileb.,  "  Go  ye  forth  and  see  ”  (Canticles  iii.  n). 


THE  HOME  :  EXTERNAL  FEATURES 


5i 


A  salient  feature  in  the  orthodox  household  consists 
of  the  arrangements  in  the  kitchen,  which  are  subject  to 
special  dietary  laws.  All  meat  foods  must  be  kept  strictly 
separate  from  milk-foods,  as  the  contact  of  one  with  the 
other^-such  as  meat  with  milk,  butter,  or  cheese — would 
render  both  unfit  for  consumption.  This  regulation  in¬ 
volves  the  use  of  two  sets  of  utensils,  both  for  cooking 
and  eating,  the  one  set  being  reserved  for  meat  dishes, 
and  the  other  for  milk  or  butter  dishes,  and  the  crockery 
and  cutlery  of  the  one  set  being  kept  rigorously  apart 
from  those  of  the  other.  This  separation  of  things 
fleischig  (“  meaty  ”)  from  things  milchig  (“  milky  ”)  is 
observed  by  the  strict  housewife  in  every  conceivable 
direction  :  there  are  separate  tablecloths  and  napkins, 
separate  cruets,  separate  basins  for  washing  the  crockery, 
and  separate  towels  for  drying  ;  and  in  more  elaborate 
kitchens  there  are  even  separate  cooking-ranges,  dressers, 
and  sinks.  There  is  a  special  utensil  for  the  preparation 
of  meat,  from  which  the  blood  must  be  drained  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  the  Biblical  command  (Gen.  ix.  4 ;  Lev. 
iii.  17).  It  is  a  slanting  board  or  piece  of  wicker-work, 
upon  which  the  meat,  after  having  been  soaked  in  water 
half  an  hour,  is  besprinkled  with  salt ;  after  another  hour 
the  salt  is  rinsed  away,  and  the  meat  is  ready  for  cooking. 
On  the  Feast  of  Passover  special  crockery  and  cutlery 
must  be  used,  and  as  separate  sets  are  necessary  for  meat 
and  milk  the  orthodox  household  must  be  provided  in 
all  with  four  sets  of  cooking  and  eating  vessels.  The 
Passover  sets  are  usually  stored  in  some  out-of-the-way 
place,  where  they  are  safe  from  contamination  by  any¬ 
thing  “  leavened/’  i.e.  the  customary  food  of  the  rest  of  the 
year. 

The  kitchen  of  the  orthodox  Jew  is  distinguished  not 
only  by  the  formal  arrangements  for  storing,  cooking,  and 
eating  food,  but  even  more  so  by  the  nature  of  the  food 
admitted.  He  strictly  adheres  to  the  prescriptions  in  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Leviticus  as  to  the  animals, 
birds,  and  fish  that  he  may  consume.  He  refrains  from 
eating  the  flesh  of  any  beasts  except  those  that  are  cloven- 


52 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


footed,  and  that  chew  the  cud,  and  hence  pork,  bacon,  and 
ham  are  taboo  in  his  home.  He  refrains  from  eating  any 
of  the  birds  forbidden  in  that  chapter,  any  fish  that  have 
not  fins  and  scales,  such  as  the  eel,  and  "  all  creeping  things 
that  creep  upon  the  earth,”  such  as  snails,  oysters,  crabs, 
and  lobsters.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  flesh  which  he  eats 
is  of  beasts  or  birds  that  are  permitted,  but  these  must  have 
been  killed  by  Jewish  slaughterers  in  accordance  with  the 
regulations  of  Rabbinic  law  (Shechita)  in  order  that  the  meat 
shall  be  kosher.  Hence  the  J ewish  housewife  must  obtain  her 
meat  from  a  butcher  licensed  by  the  ecclesiastical  authori¬ 
ties,  and  after  bringing  it  home  she  must  remove  the  blood 
in  the  manner  described  before  cooking  it.  The  law  of 
Shechita  applies  only  to  cattle,  beasts,  and  birds  ;  there  is  no 
ordinance  regarding  the  killing  of  fish,  and  hence  the  latter 
may  be  obtained  from  any  purveyor.  The  strict  housewife 
will  also  be  particular  about  the  fitness  of  the  milk,  butter, 
and  cheese  that  she  buys,  and  invariably  procures  them 
from  a  Jewish  dairyman  who  holds  a  licence  from  the 
ecclesiastical  authority,  or  upon  whose  scrupulous  observ¬ 
ance  of  the  ritual  law  she  can  rely.  Dairy  produce  from  a 
non- Jewish  purveyor  may  have  come  into  contact  with 
some  forbidden  matter,  such  as  lard,  or  may  have  been  con¬ 
veyed  in  vessels  ritually  unclean,  and  hence  it  is  suspect. 
A  similar  precaution  is  also  taken  in  regard  to  bread  and 
pastry,  which  must  not  be  baked  with  forbidden  fats  : 
and  hence  the  housewife  will  procure  these  commodities 
from  a  baker  who  observes  the  ritual  law.  In  very  orthodox 
centres  the  licensed  baker  affixes  to  each  loaf  a  small  label, 
which  certifies  to  its  being  kosher,  and  states  the  name  of  the 
Rabbi  responsible  for  its  kashrus,  whilst  occasionally  it  even 
bears  the  baker’s  portrait  and  a  registered  number.  The 
frugal  housewife,  however,  bakes  her  own  bread,  at  least  two 
twisted  loaves  in  honour  of  the  Sabbath,  and  performs  a  deed 
of  religious  merit  in  sacrificing  a  handful  of  dough  ( challah ) 
upon  the  fire,  a  survival  of  the  offering  made  to  the  priest 
in  Temple  times  (Num.  xv.  20).  The  bread  is  baked  either 
at  home,  or  more  often  at  the  local  baker’s,  and  hence  in 
Jewish  districts  on  a  Friday  afternoon,  or  on  the  eve  of  a 


THE  HOME  :  EXTERNAL  FEATURES  53 

festival,  one  may  frequently  see  girls  carrying  home  the 
Sabbath  loaves  in  their  aprons. 

The  peculiar  dishes  of  most  nations  are  largely  deter¬ 
mined  by  the  natural  products  of  the  country,  and  by  the 
taste  formed  by  climatic  conditions.  The  peculiar  dishes 
of  the  Jewish  cuisine  are  only  partly  determined  by  these 
circumstances  :  they  have  been  mainly  evolved  by  the 
elaborate  legislation  which  prescribes  what  food  is  per¬ 
mitted,  prohibits  certain  kinds  of  food  at  certain  periods, 
and  expressly  forbids  the  act  of  cooking  on  the  Sabbath. 
The  eating  of  meat  is  subjected  to  more  restrictions  than 
any  other  commodity  :  the  animal  must  be  killed  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  Rabbinical  law,  the  meat  must  be  drained  of  its 
blood,  and  it  must  not  be  cooked  with  milk  or  butter. 
Moreover,  during  the  first  nine  days  of  Ab  (August)  it  may 
not  be  eaten  at  all,  except  on  the  Sabbath,  as  a  token  of  grief 
for  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  These  restrictions  have 
caused  fish  to  become  an  article  of  very  frequent  consump¬ 
tion  among  even  the  poorest  Jews,  and  it  is  recommended 
by  the  religious  code  as  an  essential  dish  on  Sabbaths  and 
festivals.  Its  popularity  has  tended  to  develop  a  fertile 
ingenuity  in  its  preparation,  the  principal  modes  being 
frying,  stewing,  and  “  filling.”  The  third  mode  ( gefullter 
fisch)  is  peculiar  to  the  Jews  of  Eastern  Europe  :  the 
fish  is  prepared  very  much  like  a  rissole,  except  that  the 
pieces  are  covered  with  the  skin  and  cooked  in  boiling 
water.  The  most  distinctive  dish  is  that  due  to  the  in¬ 
ability  to  cook  on  the  Sabbath  and  to  the  desire  neverthe¬ 
less  to  have  hot  food  on  that  day.  It  is  known  as  shalet, 
the  virtues  of  which  have  been  sung  in  a  panegyric  by 
Heine  in  his  Prinzessin  Sabbath.  It  consists  usually  of 
meat  stewed  with  potatoes  and  fat,  or  with  peas,  beans, 
and  barley.  The  pot  containing  it  is  generally  put  into 
another  and  larger  pot  containing  hot  water,  and  the  whole 
is  placed  into  the  oven  or  upon  the  stove  on  Friday  after¬ 
noon  ;  thus  the  dish  requires  no  further  attention,  and 
it  is  quite  hot  enough  when  served  for  the  midday  meal 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  term  shalet,  which  is  prevalent  in 
German-speaking  countries,  has  undergone  local  variations, 


54 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


being  known  as  sholent  or  tcholent  in  Russia,  and  shulet  in 
Bohemia.  Its  etymology  has  been  explained  in  various 
fanciful  ways,  but  the  word  is  doubtless  derived  from  the  Old 
French  chauld  (“  warm’  ’ ),  and  thus  points  to  the  ancient  origin 
of  the  popular  dish.  A  common  form  of  shalet  is  known  as 
kugel,  a  kind  of  pudding,  in  which  flour,  fat,  and  raisins  are 
usual  ingredients.  The  law  that  has  evolved  this  peculiar 
dish  is  also  responsible  for  the  extensive  use  of  the  samovar 
in  orthodox  homes.  Water  may  not  be  boiled  nor  tea 
brewed  on  the  Sabbath,  but  if  the  tea  is  prepared  in  the 
samovar  before  the  incoming  of  the  Sabbath,  and  a  cup 
therefrom  drunk,  the  beverage  may  be  kept  hot  throughout 
the  holy  day  without  any  infringement  of  the  law.  The 
various  kinds  of  soups  prepared  by  the  Jewish  housewife 
are  also  distinctive.  The  commonest  is  that  served  with 
lokshen,  long  strips  of  dough  made  of  flour  and  eggs,  like 
macaroni.  The  strips  are  sometimes  cut  into  small  squares, 
which  are  known  as  jarfil.  There  is  also  a  variety  of  sour 
soups,  called  borschtsh,  the  most  popular  of  which  are  made 
of  beetroot  mixed  with  the  yolk  of  eggs. 

A  peculiar  aspect  of  the  cuisine  consists  in  the  fact  that 
special  dishes  are  sacred  to  certain  festivals  or  seasons  of 
the  year.  The  most  important  instance  is  the  Feast  of 
Passover,  upon  which  no  leavened  bread  may  be  eaten. 
The  unleavened  bread,  in  the  form  of  large,  thin,  round 
biscuits,  is  not  only  a  staple  article  of  diet,  but  also  an 
ingredient  in  most  of  the  other  dishes  of  the  Passover  week. 
The  unleavened  bread  is  ground  into  meal,  with  which  little 
dumplings,  called  kneidlach  (Ger.,  knodel)  or  matzakleis, 
are  made  and  eaten  with  soup  ;  and  the  meal  is  also  the 
chief  ingredient  in  various  sorts  of  puddings  and  pancakes. 
A  dish  sacred  to  three  occasions  in  the  year — the  Feast  of 
Purim,  the  eve  of  the  Day  of  Atonement,  and  the  seventh 
day  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles — is  known  as  kreplech,  con¬ 
sisting  of  little  triangular  meat-patties  served  with  soup. 
Another  delicacy  peculiar  to  Purim  is  the  Haman-Tasche,  a 
kind  of  turnover  filled  with  honey  and  black  poppy-seed. 
On  the  day  preceding  the  Fast  of  Ab  the  conventional  dish 
is  milchige  lokshen ,  home-made  macaroni  boiled  in  milk  ; 


SABBATH  IN  A  RUSSIAN  HOME 


FROM  THE  PAINTING  BY  SAMUEL  HIRSZENBERG 


THE  HOME  :  EXTERNAL,  FEATURES  55 

and  on  the  Feast  of  Chanucah  (in  December)  the  special 
dainties  are  pancakes,  called  latkies,  and  fried  scraps  of 
the  skin  of  a  fowl,  known  as  gribenes. 

The  foregoing  description  is  merely  a  summary  of  the 
peculiarities  of  Jewish  cookery,  but  it  suffices  to  show  that 
the  cuisine  in  Jewry  is  as  distinctive  an  element  in  its 
social  life  as  in  that  of  any  nation  living  in  a  land  of  its  own. 
Apart  from  his  own  peculiar  dishes,  the  observant  Jew  also 
adopts  those  of  his  native  country  so  far  as  they  can  be 
allowed  by  his  dietary  laws,  and  he  imports  them  into  any 
land  to  which  he  may  emigrate.  Thus,  in  the  Jewish 
quarter  of  a  Western  city,  one  may  see  displayed  in  the  shop- 
windows  the  large  dark-brown  loaves  reminiscent  of  the 
Russian  Pale,  the  kegs  of  olives,  cucumbers  and  gherkins 
that  hail  from  Holland,  and  the  tureens  of  sauerkraut  and 
variegated  sausages  that  owe  their  origin  to  Germany. 
But  he  who  has  departed  from  the  religion  of  his  fore¬ 
fathers  is  prone  to  adopt  the  cuisine  of  his  environment 
without  reserve,  and  to  indulge  in  all  the  forbidden  meats 
that  are  anathema  to  the  faithful.  The  disregard  of  the 
dietary  laws,  as  a  rule,  is  no  sudden  process,  but  undergoes 
a  sort  of  development  often  occupying  three  or  four  genera¬ 
tions,  the  first  generation  being  merely  lax  about  the  dietary 
laws  without  committing  any  wilful  transgression,  the 
second  disregarding  the  laws  about  the  preparation  of  per¬ 
mitted  meat  and  the  mixture  of  meat  and  butter,  the  third 
indulging  in  forbidden  dishes  only  at  restaurants,  and  the 
fourth  introducing  them  upon  the  table  at  home. 

Outward  distinction  of  dress  is  confined  to  countries 
which  are  either  geographically  or  morally  Eastern.  In 
Poland  and  Galicia  the  Jews  cling  with  religious  devotion 
to  the  sixteenth-century  Polish  costume  of  the  long  gaber¬ 
dine,  tied  round  with  a  girdle,  and  the  round  fur  hat.  Even 
boys  of  a  tender  age  wear  the  gaberdine,  while  instead  of  the 
fur  hat  they  have  a  peculiar  cap  with  a  glazed  peak.  The 
well-to-do  members  of  the  community  honour  the  Sabbath 
and  festivals  with  a  gaberdine  of  silk  or  satin  and  a  hat  of 
the  finest  fur  ;  but  there  is  no  local  variation  in  the  costume 
of  the  Jewish  women  in  those  districts.  There  are  certain 


56 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


distinctions  in  regard  to  dress,  however,  which  are  observed 
by  orthodox  Jews  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  They  will  not 
wear  a  garment  made  of  the  mixed  fabric  forbidden  by  the 
Mosaic  law  and  known  as  shaatnez,  such  as  a  mixture  of 
linen  and  wool  (Lev.  xix.  19).  Under  their  vest  they 
wear  a  small  praying-shawl  ( Talith  katon )  in  the  shape  of  a 
chest-protector,  made  of  cotton  or  wool,  with  a  woollen 
fringe  inserted  in  each  of  the  four  corners  and  arranged 
according  to  special  regulations  elaborated  by  the  Rabbis 
from  the  Pentateuch  (Num.xv.  37-41).  This  garment  is  also 
called  arba  kanfoth  (“  four  corners”),  or,  more  popularly 
still,  zizith  (“  fringes  ”),  and  it  is  worn  by  a  boy  from  his 
earliest  years.  The  pious  Jew  regards  it  as  irreverent  to  be 
bareheaded,  and  hence  always  wears  a  skull-cap  at  home,  a 
custom  rendered  further  necessary  by  frequent  prayers  and 
sacred  study,  for  both  of  which  the  head  must  be  covered. 
To  prevent  the  possibility  of  being  bareheaded  even  for  a 
moment  he  wears  the  skull-cap  throughout  the  day  and 
places  over  it  his  hat  for  outdoor  wear  when  he  leaves  the 
house. 

Law  and  custom  also  regulate  the  dressing  of  the  hair 
in  orthodox  circles.  The  Mosaic  prohibition  of  shaving, 
in  Lev.  xix.  27  (“  Ye  shall  not  round  the  corners  of  your 
heads,  neither  shalt  thou  mar  the  corners  of  thy  beard  ”), 
is  rigidly  upheld,  but  is  regarded  as  applying  only  to  the 
operation  with  a  razor.  Those  who  wish  to  remove  the  hair 
without  infringing  the  law  use  scissors,  clippers,  or  a 
chemical  depilatory  ;  but  the  complete  removal  of  the 
beard,  by  whatever  means,  is  regarded  by  staunch  adherents 
of  orthodoxy  as  a  revolt  from  Rabbinical  Judaism.  In 
many  parts  of  Eastern  Europe,  particularly  Russia  and 
Galicia,  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow  on  both  sides  of  the  head 
and  to  hang  down  in  curls  or  ringlets,  in  strict  conformity 
with  the  Levitical  rule.  In  1845  Nicholas  I  of  Russia 
decreed  that  his  Jewish  subjects  should  discard  this  custom, 
together  with  their  Polish  costume  ;  but  ear-locks  ( peoth ) 
are  still  worn  extensively  in  Eastern  Europe,  even  by  boys 
of  a  tender  age,  and  they  may  be  seen  adorning  the  cheeks 
of  pious  Jews  from  the  East  who  have  migrated  to  a  Western 


THE  HOME  :  EXTERNAL  FEATURES 


57 


city.  Married  women  are  required  by  Rabbinical  law  not 
to  expose  their  hair,  on  pain  of  being  regarded  wanton. 
Hence  orthodox  Jewesses  after  marriage  wear  a  wig  which 
completely  covers  their  hair,  while  in  the  Orient  they  don  a 
kerchief.  In  the  Western  world,  however,  both  men  and 
women  for  the  most  part  disregard  these  customs  and 
follow  the  local  fashion. 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


The  formative  forces  in  home  life — The  religious  factor  in  the 
daily  regimen — Preparations  for  the  Sabbath — At  home  on  Friday 
night — The  Sabbath  day — Festival  observances  :  Passover — Taber¬ 
nacles — Other  feasts — Fasts — Historical  and  local  factors — The 
position  of  woman — Linguistic  features — Last  scene  of  all 

THE  conditions  and  character  of  home  life  are 
determined  by  three  main  forces.  The  first  consists 
of  religious  regulations,  the  second  of  historical 
development,  and  the  third  of  local  environment.  The 
religious  regulations  are  those  embodied  in  the  Shulchan  A  ruck 
(“  Table  Prepared  ”),  the  digest  compiled  by  Rabbi  Joseph 
Caro  in  the  sixteenth  century  upon  the  basis  of  the  Talmud 
and  its  many  commentaries.  This  mediaeval  code  controls 
and  colours  every  movement  in  the  daily  life  of  the  orthodox 
Jew ;  it  governs  every  step  in  his  earthly  pilgrimage 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave.  It  prescribes  with  elaborate 
minuteness  the  varied  observances  for  Sabbaths,  feasts, 
and  fasts,  the  customs  and  ceremonies  for  the  principal 
events  of  human  life,  the  relations  that  should  prevail 
between  husband  and  wife,  between  man  and  his  neighbours. 
Prayer,  diet,  dress,  charity,  morality,  and  the  functions  of 
nature  are  all  subjects  of  precise  regulation.  The  Shulchan 
Aruch  has  thus  imparted  a  fundamental  uniformity  to 
the  scattered  communities  which  would  else  have  become 
diversified  by  local  conditions,  though  its  authority  is  no 
longer  recognized  so  universally,  nor  are  its  ordinances 
followed  so  scrupulously  as  in  days  gone  by.  The  historic 
factor  in  domestic  life  has  arisen  from  the  growth  and 
experiences  of  the  community  ;  it  comprises  social  con- 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


59 


ventions,  pastimes,  folk-lore,  and  the  peculiar  amenities  of 
family  life.  It  prevails  mostly  in  the  old-established  settle¬ 
ments  in  Eastern  Europe,  but  on  being  transplanted  by 
emigrants  to  the  lands  of  the  West  it  is  gradually  dissolved 
in  an  alien  atmosphere.  The  influence  of  local  environment 
is  naturally  restricted  in  point  of  extent,  but  it  operates 
with  a  growing  degree  of  intensity,  for  throughout  the  lands 
of  the  West,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  even  in  the  East,  local 
habits  and  fashions  tend  to  invade  the  home  and  to  com¬ 
pete  with  the  characteristic  features  of  historic  Judaism, 
triumphing  over  them  where  no  conscious  resistance  is 
offered. 

The  preceding  chapters  have  already  afforded  illustrations 
of  the  religious  factors  in  home  life,  but  they  form  only  a 
fraction  of  the  rites  and  observances  that  endow  it  with  its 
specific  character.  Let  us  follow  the  daily  movements  of  a 
conforming  Jew,  as  enjoyed  by  the  Shul-chan  Aruch,  which 
prescribes  that  he  shall  utter  a  hundred  benedictions  a  day. 
No  sooner  does  he  wake  in  the  morning  than  he  pours  water 
three  times  over  each  hand,  for  his  hands  are  regarded  as 
ritually  unclean  after  the  night’s  sleep,  and  he  may  not  touch 
his  face  nor  walk  more  than  “  four  cubits  ”  (about  six  feet) 
before  performing  the  ablution.  Nor  may  he  walk  beyond 
this  limit  with  uncovered  head  or  without  wearing  his 
garment  of  fringes,  for  he  must  ever  be  filled  with  a  feeling 
of  reverence  for  the  Creator.  The  first  important  duty  of 
the  day  is  to  offer  up  his  prayers,  but  before  he  may  do  this 
he  must  cleanse  himself  by  discharging  his  natural  functions 
and  bless  the  Creator  for  having  fashioned  him  with  the 
organs  necessary  for  health.  He  then  completes  his  toilet 
and  proceeds  from  cleanliness  to  godliness.  If  he  can  he 
attends  morning  service  in  the  synagogue  and  hurries  thither 
to  symbolize  his  zeal ;  otherwise  he  offers  up  his  prayers  at 
home,  together  with  his  sons.  For  twenty  minutes  or  half 
an  hour  the  room  has  the  appearance  of  a  miniature  syna¬ 
gogue,  the  worshippers  wearing  the  talith  (‘‘praying-shawl”) 
and  tephillin  (“phylacteries”)  and  voicing  their  Hebrew 
prayers  in  a  quaint  traditional  cadence. 

Only  after  completing  his  devotions  may  he  take  his 


6o 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


breakfast,  which,  like  every  other  meal,  is  attended  with  a 
ritual  of  benediction.  He  pours  water  three  times  over  his 
hands,  and  while  drying  them  blesses  “  the  King  of  the 
Universe,  who  hath  sanctified  us  with  His  commandments, 
and  commanded  us  to  cleanse  the  hands.”  He  then  says 
grace  before  meat  :  “  Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord  our  God, 
King  of  the  Universe,  who  bringest  forth  bread  from  the 
earth,”  and  breaks  bread.  Brief  as  is  this  grace  before  the 
meal,  that  which  comes  after  it  is  appreciably  long,  and  then 
the  members  of  the  family  disperse  to  their  various  occu¬ 
pations.  In  the  Western  world,  where  trains  wait  for  no 
man,  the  morning  devotions  and  grace  are  often  sadly 
mutilated  by  the  necessity  of  punctuality  at  office,  factory, 
or  school,  but  a  compensating  leisureliness  may  be  observed 
in  the  devotions  of  the  evening.  An  orthodox  Jew  tries  to 
attend  the  evening  service  at  the  synagogue  not  alone 
because  of  the  religious  virtue  attaching  thereto,  but  also 
because  he  may  join  a  class  of  amateur  students — tradesmen, 
artisans,  pedlars,  and  the  like — in  their  nightly  study  of  the 
Talmud  under  the  guidance  of  the  Rabbi.  But  even  if  he 
should  be  unable  to  go  to  the  house  of  prayer,  he  will  never 
fail  in  his  devotions  at  home,  and  he  will  round  off  the  pro¬ 
gramme  of  the  day  by  studying  a  page  of  the  Talmud,  utter¬ 
ing  the  complicated  argument  in  a  peculiar  chant-like  air 
in  the  midst  of  the  family  circle.  His  leisure  moments  are 
devoted  to  the  reading  of  Hebrew  works,  primarily  those 
of  religious  lore,  and  he  always  finds  time  to  con  a  news¬ 
paper,  being  as  interested  in  international  as  in  purely 
local  affairs.  Before  retiring  to  bed  he  offers  up  a  night- 
prayer  in  which  he  fervently  declares  :  "  Into  Thy  hand  I 
commit  my  spirit.  Thou  hast  redeemed  me,  O  Lord,  God 
of  truth,”  and  thrice  repeats:  “ Behold,  the  Guardian  of 
Israel  neither  slumbereth  nor  sleepeth.” 

The  preparations  for  the  Sabbath  day  are  important 
not  only  because  honour  must  be  shown  to  it  by  special 
dishes,  but  still  more  because  no  cooking  may  be  done  on 
that  day  ;  and  hence  the  Jewish  housewife  is  busy  market¬ 
ing,  cooking,  and  cleaning  from  Thursday  morning  till 
the  setting  of  the  sun  on  the  following  day.  The  kitchen 


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61 


presents  a  scene  of  bustle  ;  there  is  the  baking  of  the 
twisted  loaves,  sprinkled  with  poppy-seed  in  memory  of 
the  ancient  manna,  and  of  a  large  family  cake  ;  the  chop¬ 
ping  of  fish  to  make  the  boiled  rissoles  known  as  gefullter 
ftsch,  and  the  frying  in  oil  of  other  fish  ;  the  preparing  of 
the  lockschen  or  macaroni  for  soup  ;  the  plucking  of  a  hen, 
killed  by  a  ritual  slaughterer,  and  its  disembowelling, 
salting,  and  cooking  ;  and  finally  the  cooking  of  the  all- 
important  Shalet.  Add  to  these  the  sweets  and  sauces 
which  the  ingenuity  of  a  diligent  housewife  may  provide, 
and  remember  the  rigid  separation  she  must  observe 
between  meat  and  butter,  and  then  one  may  acquire  some 
notion  of  her  task  in  preparing  an  orthodox  welcome  for 
the  “  Sabbath  bride/’  The  course  of  her  labours  may  be 
suddenly  interrupted  by  the  discovery  of  a  pin  in  the 
bowels  of  the  hen,  or  some  other  ritual  blemish,  whereupon 
she  must  send  the  fowl  to  the  Rabbi  to  inquire  whether 
it  is  kosher.  An  adverse  decision  causes  only  passing  irrita¬ 
tion,  for  much  more  serious  than  the  sacrifice  of  the  fowl 
would  have  been  the  sin  of  eating  it ;  and,  besides,  the  forbid¬ 
den  bird  can  be  sold  to  a  Gentile  neighbour.  The  housewife 
may  also  be  interrupted  by  the  calls  of  poor  women,  begging 
for  the  wherewithal  to  celebrate  the  Sabbath,  and  she  gives 
them  each  a  couple  of  candles  to  light  in  honour  of  the 
holy  day.  In  addition  to  cooking  there  is  the  work  of 
cleaning  and  dusting  to  make  the  house  look  bright  and 
festive  :  the  Sabbath  candlesticks,  the  cutlery,  and  the 
boots  all  receive  a  vigorous  polish.  In  many  a  humble 
home  these  arduous  preparations  have  to  be  carried  out 
alone  by  the  zealous  housewife,  burdened  perchance  with 
the  cares  of  infant  children,  though  her  husband  accounts  it 
a  religious  virtue  to  help.  He  distils  the  raisin  wine  for 
the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  brews  the  tea  in  the 
samovar,  and  drinks  the  first  cup  so  that  he  and  his  family 
may  lawfully  enjoy  the  hot  beverage  during  the  day  of 
rest.  So  absorbing  are  these  various  tasks — for  no  work 
of  any  kind  may  be  done  from  sunset  on  Friday  for  the 
next  twenty-four  hours — that  there  is  hardly  time  to  eat  ; 
and  indeed  the  upholders  of  tradition  designedly  eat  little 


62 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


during  the  day  so  that  they  may  develop  a  keen  appetite 
for  the  evening  repast.  The  conforming  Jew  also  takes  a 
hot  bath,  trims  his  hair,  pares  his  nails,  and  dons  his  best 
clothes.  With  a  feeling  of  relief  the  mistress  of  the  house 
applies  herself  to  her  final  duty- — the  decking  of  the  table. 
She  covers  it  with  a  white  linen  cloth,  places  at  the  head 
the  two  twisted  loaves,  symbolical  of  the  double  portion 
of  manna  gathered  in  the  Wilderness  of  Sinai  on  the  Sabbath 
eve,  and  covers  them  with  a  fancy  cloth,  generally  of  dark 
red  velvet  with  a  Hebrew  design  or  benediction  embroidered 
in  yellow.  She  puts  the  bottle  of  raisin  wine  or  some 
superior  decoction  near  the  bread,  and  the  candlesticks 
of  brass  or  copper  or  silver,  sometimes  two  and  sometimes 
four,  containing  wax  candles,  at  the  opposite  end.  Then 
she  lights  the  wicks,  and  covering  her  eyes  with  her  palms 
she  offers  up  the  Hebrew  prayer  :  “  Blessed  art  Thou,  O 
Lord  our  God,  King  of  the  Universe,  who  hast  sanctified 
us  with  His  commandments  and  commanded  us  to  kindle 
the  Sabbath  light.’ ’  Thus  she  welcomes  the  day  of  rest, 
and  with  her  daughters  she  awaits  the  return  of  her  husband 
and  sons  from  the  synagogue,  whither  they  have  gone  to 
join  in  the  service  of  psalmody  from  which  naught  but 
sickness  can  excuse  their  absence. 

An  air  of  peace  and  contentment  fills  even  the  humblest 
home  on  Friday  night.  The  snow-white  cloth,  illumined 
by  the  sacred  lights  and  adorned  with  the  velvet  mantle 
of  the  twin  loaves  and  the  wine  of  sanctification,  changes 
the  lowly  abode  into  a  place  of  delight,  from  which  all  the 
toil  and  turmoil  of  the  week  are  banished  :  the  genial 
scene  is  infused  with  a  spiritual  glow  and  touched  with 
an  Eastern  glamour.  Amid  joyous  greetings  of  “  Good 
Sabbath  !  ”  the  husband  and  sons  are  welcomed  home,  and 
the  ties  of  family  affection  are  drawn  still  closer  by  poetic 
ceremonial.  The  father,  placing  his  hands  on  the  heads  of 
his  children,  pronounces  a  blessing  in  Biblical  diction,  in¬ 
voking  the  favour  of  God  to  make  his  sons  “  like  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh,”  and  his  daughters  like  “  Sarah,  Rebeccah, 
Rachel,  and  Leah.”  And  he  sings  the  praises  of  his  wife  in 
the  glowing  panegyric  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (xxxi.), 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


63 


fashioned  as  an  acrostic  on  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  to  a  tradi¬ 
tional  air  :  “A  virtuous  woman  who  can  find  ?  for  her  price 
is  far  above  rubies.”  And  then,  the  family  gathered  round 
the  table,  he  recites  the  sanctification  over  the  wine,  in 
which  he  recalls  how  God  “  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from 
all  His  work  which  He  had  made,  and  God  blessed  the 
seventh  day,  and  hallowed  it.”  He  drinks  of  the  wine,  and 
passes  the  cup  round  the  table  ;  and  after  laving  his  hands 
in  the  ritual  manner  and  saying  grace,  he  cuts  one  of  the 
loaves  and  distributes  a  piece  to  all  present.  The  family 
circle  often  includes  a  poor  stranger,  a  Sabbath  guest,  who 
has  been  invited  home  from  synagogue  in  accordance  with 
the  ethical  precept  of  “  hospitality  to  wayfarers.”  The  guest 
is  soon  put  at  his  ease  and  joins  in  the  conversation,  and 
if  he  be  a  Russian  or  Rumanian  immigrant  seeking  asylum 
in  a  Western  land,  he  regales  his  hosts  with  stories  of  his  sad 
experiences.  Between  the  courses  there  is  a  brief  inter¬ 
lude  for  the  singing  of  hymns,  with  spirited  refrains,  which 
proclaim  the  duties  and  pleasures  of  Sabbath  observance. 
Grace  after  meat  is  recited  with  many  melodious  passages, 
in  some  of  which  the  whole  company  joins,  and  the  house 
is  filled  with  the  joyous  strains  of  Hebrew  minstrelsy. 
Presently  the  sound  of  sacred  song  is  heard  again,  for  the 
father  of  the  household  chants  the  current  portion  of  the 
Pentateuch  to  a  quaint  Oriental  air,  in  which  his  sons 
occasionally  join. 

It  is  the  one  night  of  the  week  when,  in  many  circles,  all 
the  members  of  the  family  gather  together  to  indulge  in 
the  pleasures  of  conversation.  They  may  not  perform  on  a 
musical  instrument  or  smoke,  but  they  may  diversify  the 
evening  by  a  game  of  chess,  though  as  a  rule  the  conversa¬ 
tion  is  sustained  with  sufficient  vigour  to  dispense  with 
adventitious  pastimes.  Even  in  homes  where  the  ritual  of 
the  Sabbath  is  not  strictly  kept,  the  night  is  regarded  as 
sacred  to  domestic  intercourse,  and  the  family  circle  is  not 
broken  up  even  by  the  most  tempting  attractions  outside. 
For  the  orthodox  visits  to  places  of  public  amusement  are 
out  of  the  question,  as  they  would  involve  the  handling  of 
money,  and  perhaps  the  use  of  a  vehicle,  both  acts  that  are 


64 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


forbidden  on  the  sacred  day.  But  those  who  are  keen 
upon  seeing  a  play  avoid  transgressing  the  letter  of  the  law 
by  booking  seats  in  advance  and  walking  to  and  from  the 
theatre,  although  conscious  that  they  are  departing  from 
the  traditional  observance  of  the  day.  They,  however, 
who  remain  at  home  help  to  conserve  the  spirit  of  the  ages, 
the  genius  of  the  Sabbath  as  celebrated  in  diverse  climes 
through  the  changing  centuries.  Nought  can  compare 
with  the  feeling  of  cheerfulness  and  intimacy  that  fills 
the  peaceful  household  on  this  night,  the  hallowed  candles 
shedding  their  beaming  rays  and  making  playful  shadows, 
the  samovar  steaming  invitingly  on  the  table,  and  the 
ambrosial  fragrance  of  the  morrow’s  shalet  diffusing  a  sense 
of  delicious  contentment.  And  in  harmony  with  the 
genial  scene  is  the  theme  of  conversation,  parents  telling 
their  children  tales  of  the  olden  days  when  Israel  had  a 
kingdom  of  his  own,  or  of  the  mediaeval  times  when  he  was 
doomed  to  the  dungeon  and  the  stake,  or  stories  of  the  wise 
men  in  the  past ;  or  the  older  members  of  the  group  may 
engage  in  a  discussion  on  a  Talmudical  problem  or  the 
destinies  of  their  people,  all  heedless  of  which  the  young¬ 
sters  slowly  drop  off  to  sleep.  And  the  pleasant  discourse 
flows  on  unruffled  until  the  servant  enters  to  put  out  the 
lights,  for  no  Jew  may  kindle  or  extinguish  fire  on  the  holy 
day  (Ex.  xxxv.  3).  But  the  Sabbath  candles  must 
not  be  touched  :  they  are  left  to  burn  unto  the  end,  and 
the  conversation  is  often  continued  until  the  last  feeble 
flicker  of  the  dying  wick  leaves  all  in  the  gloom  that 
enwraps  the  future. 

The  prohibition  to  handle  fire  on  the  Sabbath  has 
produced  a  special  character,  the  Shabbos-goyah  or  ‘‘Sabbath 
Gentile,”  who,  in  houses  where  there  is  no  non- Jewish 
servant,  attends  to  the  lights  and  fires  and  performs  any 
other  domestic  work  forbidden  to  the  J ew.  These  functions 
are  usually  discharged  by  the  charwoman  who  has  helped 
in  the  preparations  earlier  in  the  day  ;  but  there  are 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  homes  where  even  a  charwoman 
on  a  week-day  is  a  luxury.  But  on  the  Sabbath  Gentile 
assistance  is  necessary  for  all  who  would  keep  the  Law, 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


65 


and  hence  even  the  poorest  home  cannot  dispense  with 
a  “  fire-woman/’  as  she  is  called  in  English  parlance. 
The  “  fire-woman  ”  usually  looks  after  a  number  of  houses 
in  the  same  district,  and  her  charge,  which  is  called  “  fire- 
money,”  is  quite  moderate,  amounting  to  only  a  few  pence 
for  the  day. 

Early  on  the  Sabbath  morning  the  observant  Jew  wends 
his  way  to  synagogue,  to  attend  a  service  that  lasts  from 
two  to  three  hours.  He  goes  breakfastless,  for  he  may 
eat  no  food  until  he  has  offered  up  his  prayers  ;  the  only 
refreshment  he  takes  is  a  glass  of  tea  from  the  inex¬ 
haustible  samovar.  As  it  is  almost  noon  before  he  is  home 
again,  he  often  combines  breakfast  with  dinner,  eating  the 
joint  repast  with  becoming  leisureliness,  and  chanting  with 
contentment  the  Sabbath  hymns  after  consuming  the 
succulent  shalet.  In  the  afternoon  he  indulges  in  a  nap, 
examines  the  progress  of  his  young  sons  in  their  Hebrew 
studies,  and  very  often  listens  to  a  long  Talmudical  dis¬ 
course,  which  follows  the  afternoon  service  in  the  synagogue. 
Morning  sermons  are  not  the  fashion  in  his  house  of  prayer, 
for  no  Derasha  (“  discourse  ”)  worthy  of  the  name  can  be 
delivered  under  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  to  prolong  the 
morning  service  to  such  an  extent  would  arouse  the  pangs 
of  hunger  even  among  the  most  zealous,  and  so  violate  the 
tranquil  spirit  of  the  day.  Even  if  there  be  no  Talmudic 
homily  to  detain  him,  he  often  lingers  in  the  house  of  prayer 
to  engage  in  mundane  converse  until  the  concluding  prayers 
of  the  Sabbath  at  sunset,  for  to  him  and  all  his  circle  the 
synagogue  is  also  a  social  rendezvous.  But  in  the  long 
summer  afternoons  he  returns  home  to  take  a  third  meal, 
for  the  code  ordains  that  he  shall  eat  three  meals  in  honour 
of  the  Sabbath,  a  sumptuary  law  which  he  will  not  willingly 
transgress. 

When  the  final  service  of  the  day,  begun  in  the  thickening 
shadows  and  concluded  amid  the  lighting  of  lamps,  is  over, 
he  wends  his  way  home,  greets  the  family  with  Gut  Woch 
(“  Good  week”),  and  ushers  out  the  sacred  day  with  the 
ceremony  of  Habdalah  (“  Separation  ”)  just  enacted  in  the 
synagogue,  which  indicates  the  transition  to  the  working 

5 


66 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


day.  He  pours  wine  into  a  cup,  lets  it  flow  over  to  sym¬ 
bolize  the  Divine  bounty  which  he  wishes  to  enjoy  in  the 
coming  week,  and  utters  a  benediction.  He  takes  a  spice- 
box,  shakes  it,  and  inhales  the  pungent  fragrance,  to  typify 
the  “  additional  soul  ”  with  which  the  Sabbath,  according 
to  tradition,  has  endowed  him.  He  places  his  hands 
against  a  plaited  wax-light,  generally  held  by  a  younger 
son  (who  is  jestingly  admonished  to  hold  it  higher  if  he 
desires  a  tall  bride),  and  bending  the  fingers  inwards,  he 
marks  the  contrast  between  the  shadow  within  and  the 
light  without  and  blesses  “  the  Creator  of  the  light  of 
fire.”  And  in  a  closing  benediction  he  blesses  the  King 
of  the  Universe  for  having  made  a  distinction  “  between 
the  holy  and  the  profane,  between  light  and  darkness, 
between  Israel  and  the  nations,  between  the  seventh  day 
and  the  six  days  of  creation. ”  He  sips  the  wine  and  passes 
it  round  to  the  males  1 ;  he  extinguishes  the  taper  in  the 
ruddy  overflow  in  the  plate.  The  day  of  rest  is  over  and 
the  week  of  work  has  begun  again,  and  he  meets  its  cares 
and  troubles  with  a  lilting  hymn  and  a  glad  refrain  : 

“  He  who  profane  from  holy  parts, 

Our  sins  He  will  forgive  ; 

Our  seed,  our  means  He  will  increase 
Like  sand,  like  stars  of  night. 

My  voice,  let  not  be  turned  aside  ; 

The  gate  of  favour  ope. 

My  head  with  dew  doth  overflow. 

My  locks  with  drops  of  night. 

Lord,  in  Thine  hand  we  are  like  clay  ; 

Forgive  the  light  and  grave. 

For  speech  day  utters  unto  day, 

And  night  to  ev’ry  night.” 

Life  in  the  home  presents  the  same  general  features 
on  festivals  as  on  the  Sabbath,  with  differences  of  cere¬ 
monial  and  diet  due  to  each  special  occasion.  The  most 
striking  differences  are  those  connected  with  the  Feast 
of  Passover  and  Tabernacles,  which  are  both  observed 

1  Women  do  not  partake  of  the  wine  of  Habdalah,  as  they  are  supposed 
to  have  less  personal  interest  in  the  resumption  of  work. 


THE  TERMINATION  OF  THE  SABBATH 

FROM  AN  ETCHING  BY  HERMANN  STRUCK 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


67 


with  rites  in  which  historic  memories,  poetic  symbolism, 
and  religious  legalism  are  all  intertwined.  Passover 
involves  a  culinary  revolution,  for  all  leavened  food  must 
be  removed  from  the  house,  the  crockery  and  cutlery 
used  throughout  the  year  must  be  replaced  by  the  special 
sets  reserved  for  the  festival,  and  a  staple  factor  of  the 
week’s  diet  is  the  brittle  unleavened  bread  first  baked 
by  the  Israelites  on  their  flight  from  Egypt.  The  dis¬ 
tinguishing  feature  of  the  celebration,  which  is  peculiarly 
rich  in  picturesque  ceremonial,  is  the  service  of  praise 
and  prayer  offered  up  on  the  first  two  nights  around  the 
festive  table,  upon  which,  beside  the  gleaming  candles,  are 
the  dishes  that  symbolize  the  Egyptian  bondage  and  the 
Divine  redemption.  The  Sabbath  loaves  are  replaced  by 
three  cakes  of  unleavened  bread,  representing  the  “  bread 
of  affliction.”  A  bowl  of  bitter  herbs  recalls  the  bitterness 
of  the  Pharaonic  oppression  ;  a  pasty  confection  of  almonds 
and  spices,  into  which  the  bitter  herbs  are  dipped  before 
they  are  eaten,  typifies  the  mortar  wherewith  the  cities 
of  Pithom  and  Rameses  were  built ;  the  shankbone  of 
a  lamb  represents  the  Paschal  offering  of  Temple  days  ; 
and  a  roasted  egg  stands  for  the  private  offering  made  by 
every  Jew  on  his  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  three  times  a 
year  in  the  romantic  past.  And  before  each  member  of 
the  family  group  is  a  glass  of  wine  which  must  be  filled 
and  emptied  four  times  at  fixed  intervals  in  the  service, 
in  memory  of  the  fourfold  utterance  in  which  the  Almighty 
announced  the  redemption.1  An  extra  cup  of  wine  is 
kept  ready  for  any  possible  guest,  and  is  called  “  the  cup 
of  Elijah,”  as  the  guest  most  desired  is  Elijah,  the  fore¬ 
runner  of  the  Messiah. 

The  prayers  narrate  the  history  of  the  departure  from 
Egypt  and  explain  the  meaning  of  the  several  rites  con¬ 
nected  with  the  celebration,  and  hence  they  are  called 
Haggadah  (“recital”).  The  order  of  the  service  is  known 

1  Ex.  vi.  6,  7  :  “  And  I  will  bring  you  out  from  under  the  burdens 
of  the  Egyptians,  and  I  will  rid  you  out  of  their  bondage,  and  I  will  redeem 
you  with  a  stretched  out  arm,  and  with  great  judgements  ;  and  I  will 
take  you  to  me  for  a  people.” 


68 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


as  Seder  or  “  Order/’  and  the  first  two  evenings  of  Passover 
are  called  “  Seder  evenings.”  This  domestic  celebration 
is  in  many  cases  the  only  occasion  of  a  family  reunion 
throughout  the  year,  and  thus  serves  other  than  purely 
religious  objects  ;  whilst  the  interest  of  the  children  is 
aroused  by  assigning  to  the  youngest  present  the  duty  of 
asking  four  questions  in  regard  to  the  distinguishing 
features  of  the  evening. 

It  is  the  custom  on  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  to  live 
as  much  as  possible  in  a  tabernacle  or  booth  for  seven 
days,  in  memory  of  the  tents  in  which  the  children  of 
Israel  dwelt  during  their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness. 
The  booth  is  a  small  temporary  structure  of  wood,  built 
generally  at  the  back  of  the  house,  with  a  roof  of  rushes 
that  lets  in  the  daylight.  The  duty  of  “  dwelling  ”  therein 
is  interpreted  by  staunch  pietists  to  include  not  only  eating 
but  sleeping ;  but  as  the  festival  falls  at  the  end  of  Sep¬ 
tember,  when  cold  nights  in  the  Western  world  would 
make  sleep  in  such  an  abode  uncomfortable,  the  great 
majority  of  the  orthodox  fold  are  content  simply  to  have 
their  meals  and  receive  their  friends  there.  The  booth  is 
generally  home-made,  and  all  members  of  the  family, 
especially  the  younger  ones,  take  a  delight  in  helping  in 
its  erection.  The  interior  is  decorated  with  pictures, 
religious  emblems  and  Hebrew  mottoes,  and  from  the  roof 
hang  clusters  of  fruit,  which  give  to  the  rude  structure 
the  appearance  of  a  rustic  bower  in  an  Eastern  land,  and 
recall  “  the  feast  of  ingathering  ”  in  ancient  Palestine 
which  the  festival  also  commemorates.  At  nightfall,  when 
the  booth  is  lit  up  by  the  candles  that  have  been  blessed 
by  the  housewife,  and  the  family  are  gathered  around  the 
table,  the  pious  paterfamilias  raises  his  voice  in  tuneful 
melody  as  he  intones  the  sanctification  over  the  wine, 
quickly  to  be  followed  by  his  neighbours  in  the  tabernacles 
near  by,  and  thus  a  chorus  of  Hebrew  thanksgiving  rises 
unto  the  star-lit  heavens  throughout  the  globe  four  thousand 
years  after  the  wandering  tribe  dwelt  in  booths  in  the 
Wilderness  of  Sinai. 

The  other  festivals  have  also  a  domestic  side  to  their 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


69 


observance,  though  not  to  such  an  impressive  extent. 
Pentecost,  the  second  of  the  three  pilgrim  feasts,  is  the 
least  endowed  with  special  ceremonial :  the  only  custom 
is  that  of  sitting  up  the  greater  part  of  the  first  night  and 
reading  passages  from  the  Scriptures  and  the  Talmud, 
for  the  festival  commemorates  the  giving  of  the  Law. 
New  Year  is  the  occasion  for  an  effusive  exchange  of 
friendly  wishes,  which  are  communicated  in  Western 
lands  largely  through  the  medium  of  private  cards  and 
the  columns  of  the  Press  ;  whilst  the  festive  repast  is 
begun  with  a  sweet  apple  dipped  in  honey,  to  typify  the 
year  of  sweetness  for  which  everybody  prays.  The  final 
meal  on  the  Eve  of  the  Day  of  Atonement  is  consumed 
with  an  air  of  solemnity,  the  grace  being  uttered  in  a 
tearful  voice  ;  whilst  the  fast  is  broken  with  a  meal  ac¬ 
companied  by  every  sign  of  joy  and  festivity.  The  Feast 
of  Dedication  (Chanucah),  which  commemorates  the  victory 
of  the  Maccabees  over  the  Syrians,  is  a  feast  of  light  and 
song,  which  makes  a  potent  appeal  to  children.  On  the  first 
night  one  light,  and  on  each  succeeding  evening  a  further 
light  must  be  kindled,  so  that  a  row  of  eight  beaming 
lights  illumines  the  home  on  the  last  night ;  and  the 
children,  who  have  helped  in  the  kindling,  join  in  the 
gleeful  hymn  which  tells  of  the  re-dedication  of  the  Temple 
after  its  pollution  by  the  Syrian  foe.  Spending-money 
{Chanucah  Geld)  is  given  to  the  youngsters,  who  also 
demand  a  similar  bounty  on  Purim  [Purim  Geld),  wherewith 
to  celebrate  the  downfall  of  Haman  with  fitting  rejoicing. 
The  latter  festival  is  the  occasion,  particularly  in  Eastern 
Europe,  of  amateur  theatricals,  the  favourite  performance 
being  a  Hebrew  or  Yiddish  play,  with  Esther  and  Mordecai 
as  the  heroes  and  Haman  as  the  villain.  A  simpler  form 
of  entertainment  is  provided  by  two  or  three  minstrels, 
who  generally  go  in  some  sort  of  disguise  from  house  to 
house,  fiddling  and  singing  all  manner  of  merry  songs. 
Three-cornered  turnovers  filled  with  honey  and  black 
poppy-seed,  and  known  as  Hamantaschen,  are  eaten ; 
modest  gifts  are  exchanged  between  friends  in  accordance 
with  the  custom  prescribed  in  the  Book  of  Esther  ;  and 


70 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  youngsters  make  a  rollicking  din  with  their  rattles  to 
proclaim  anew  the  discomfiture  of  the  wicked  Haman. 
It  is  an  occasion  when  merry-making  amounts  to  a  duty, 
and  a  liberal  indulgence  in  strong  drink  is  even  recom¬ 
mended  by  the  orthodox  code,  a  counsel  faithfully  adopted 
by  those  who  would  make  a  virtue  of  their  failings. 

The  fasts  of  the  calendar  likewise  find  external  ex¬ 
pression  in  the  home,  since  no  food  or  drink  may  be  taken 
by  anybody  above  the  age  of  thirteen,  the  year  in  which 
religious  responsibility  is  attained.  The  house  is  often 
closed  on  the  Day  of  Atonement,  for  the  whole  family 
are  in  the  synagogue  from  early  morn  till  sunset.  On  the 
four  fast  days  kept  in  commemoration  of  events  connected 
with  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (Zech.  viii.  19)  the  Jew  may 
attend  to  his  ordinary  work,  and  the  home  almost  presents 
its  usual  aspect,  save  for  the  absence  of  meals.  But  on  the 
ninth  of  Ab  (August),  the  anniversary  of  the  destruction 
of  the  Temple,  he  may  not  wear  boots  or  shoes  of  leather, 
nor  greet  his  friends,  in  token  of  the  sadness  of  the  day. 

Prominent  as  these  national  and  religious  anniversaries 
are  in  moulding  and  colouring  home  life  in  J  ewry ,  they  do 
not  dominate  it  to  the  exclusion  of  other  factors,  for  there 
are  also  features  due  to  historical  development  and  local 
environment.  To  the  former  category  belong  the  peculiar¬ 
ities  of  language  employed  by  Jews,  their  peculiar  greetings, 
expletives,  idioms,  proverbs,  folk-songs — all  the  elements 
of  the  distinctive  culture  evolved  through  the  centuries. 
The  features  due  to  local  environment  are  as  varied  as  the 
environments  themselves.  They  prevail  predominantly, 
but  not  exclusively,  in  Western  lands,  and  in  proportion 
as  they  invade  and  dominate  the  Jewish  home,  the  latter 
loses  its  distinctive  character. 

The  home  is  the  dominion  of  the  Jewish  woman  :  hers 
is  the  duty  of  safeguarding  its  purity  religiously,  morally, 
and  ritually,  a  task  which  demands  unceasing  vigilance 
and  leaves  little  leisure  for  extra-domestic  labours.  The 
Jewish  woman  is  trained  in  the  ways  of  modesty  and  taught 
that  chastity  is  the  highest  virtue.  This  lesson  is  enforced 
upon  the  eve  of  marriage  by  the  custom  of  replacing  her 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


7i 


maiden  tresses  by  a  matronly  wig,  to  avert  admiration  from 
any  other  but  her  husband.  Even  before  marriage  she  may 
not  be  in  the  company  of  men,  except  under  the  closest 
chaperonage,  and  at  social  gatherings  she  and  her  sisters 
must  entertain  themselves  in  one  room,  whilst  the  men 
are  in  another.  She  dances  with  her  own  sex  too,  or  if 
she  dances  with  a  man  she  may  not  touch  his  hand,  but 
holds  one  end  of  a  handkerchief  while  he  holds  another, 
and  thus  they  trip  it  decorously.  This  rigorous  separation 
of  the  sexes  prevails  only  in  certain  circles  in  Russia, 
Galicia,  and  the  lands  of  the  East,  though  even  in  Western 
countries  the  pious  look  askance  at  social  intercourse  be¬ 
tween  men  and  women.  But  the  tendency  to  discard  these 
habits  of  the  Orient  is  steadily  progressing.  The  Jewish 
woman  upon  marriage  abandons  any  occupation  she  may 
have  followed  for  a  living,  in  order  to  devote  herself  com¬ 
pletely  to  her  wifely  duties  ;  and  if  her  husband  be  too 
poor  to  allow  this  sacrifice  she  gives  up  her  work  at  least 
as  soon  as  she  looks  forward  to  motherhood.  Her  natural 
instinct  to  give  utterance  to  her  emotions  in  song  is  dis¬ 
couraged  by  the  puritanical  rule  of  the  Talmud  :  “A 
voice  in  a  woman  is  lewdness, ”  but  it  is  too  strong  and 
primeval  to  be  suppressed  by  law.  She  sings  lullabies  and 
folk-songs,  simple  Yiddish  compositions  that  have  all  the 
qualities  of  popular  ballads,  inspired  by  traditional  ideals 
and  echoing  with  national  sorrows.  She  sings  to  her  baby- 
boy  of  the  study  of  the  Torah  and  the  pursuit  of  trade, 
the  twin  ideal  of  the  Eastern  Jew  ;  and  croons  over  her 
baby-girl  a  ditty  in  which  she  pictures  her  already  as  a 
mother,  revealing  the  insistent  sense  of  maternity  that 
animates  the  women  of  her  race.  No  insipid  rhymes  about 
mythical  monsters  are  her  cradle-songs,  but  serious  re¬ 
flections  on  daily  life. 

“  A  little  while  together  we  will  play. 

And  then  to  school  the  child  must  quickly  go, 

Where  he  will  learn  the  Torah’s  happy  way, 

And  good  reports  to  us  will  daily  flow.” 

Thus  from  the  cradle  does  the  child  inhale  a  spirit  of 
earnestness. 


72 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


This  distinctive  influence  of  the  nursery  prevails  only  in 
those  communities  that  have  evolved  a  specifically  Jewish 
culture,  namely,  in  the  East,  whilst  it  has  extended  to  the 
Western  Ghettos  to  which  this  culture  is  transplanted.  It 
is  part  of  the  general  intellectual  atmosphere,  of  which  the 
language  spoken,  whether  Yiddish  or  Ladino,  with  all  its 
peculiarities  of  speech  and  current  idioms,  forms  so  im¬ 
portant  an  element.  For  the  Jew  born  and  bred  in  the 
strongholds  of  Jewish  tradition  has  his  own  individual 
way  of  expressing  himself,  his  own  peculiar  greetings,  oaths, 
and  proverbs.  He  has  a  primitive  mode  of  nomenclature, 
addressing  his  neighbours  by  their  forename,  with  a  title 

of  respect,  such  as  “  Reb  Samuel  ”  (Mr.  Samuel - )  or 

“  Reb  David,”  or  denominating  them  by  some  physical 
or  social  characteristic  such  as  “  the  red  Michael,”  “  the 
tall  Archik,”  “  the  Lomzha  Melammed  ”  (teacher),  or 
“  Chaye  die  Shmaye  ”  (the  gossip).  If  he  is  ignorant  of  a 
man’s  name  he  addresses  him  simply  as  “  Landsmann  ” 
(countryman)  or,  somewhat  whimsically,  as  “  Reb  Yid” 
(Mr.  Jew).  His  time-honoured  Hebrew  greeting  is 
“  Shalom  aleichem  ”  (Peace  unto  you),  to  which  his  friend 
responds  with  “  Aleichem  shalom .”  But  this  salutation 
is  generally  used  only  upon  seeing  a  friend  after  a  long 
absence,  the  more  customary  greeting  being  in  Yiddish  : 
“  Was  macht  ihy  ?  ”  (How  are  you  ?).  “  Good  day  ”  and 

“Good  evening”  have  their  literal  equivalents,  “a  gaten 
Tog,”  “  a  guten  Ovend  ”  (Ger.  Abend),  though  the  latter  are 
often  shortened  to  simply  “  a  guten  !  ”  On  the  Sabbath 
the  greeting  is  “  Gut  Shabbos  ”  (Good  Sabbath),  or  among 
the  Sephardim,  “  Shabb at  Shalom  ”  (A  Sabbath  of  peace)  ; 
on  the  festivals,  “  Gut  Yomtov’>  (Good  holy  day) ;  and  at 
the  close  of  Sabbaths  and  festivals,  “  Gut  Woch  ”  (Good 
week).  Should  a  person  visit  his  friend  whilst  the  latter  is 
seated  at  table,  he  exclaims  in  Hebrew  :  “Blessed  is  he  that 
sitteth !  ”  and  should  one  of  them  sneeze,  the  other  calls 
out,  “  Asusah  ”  or  “  Zu  Gesund  ”  (Good  health  !).  The 
usual  formula  of  congratulation  is  “  Mazzol  Tov  /”  (Good 
luck),  while  in  drinking  a  toast  the  wish  expressed  is 
“  Lee  hay  im  !  ”  (For  life).  These  are  but  the  commonest 


HOME  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


73 


forms  of  greeting  in  the  course  of  daily  conversation,  which 
contains  a  multitude  of  idioms. 

We  come  now  to  the  last  scene  of  all,  and  the  panorama 
of  domestic  life  will  be  complete.  The  Jew  beholds  the 
approach  of  the  shadow  of  Death  into  his  home  with  poignant 
grief,  for  his  family  affection  is  strong  and  deep-rooted.  He 
does  not  lightly  reconcile  himself  to  the  loss  of  his  flesh  and 
blood  ;  he  offers  up  Psalms  in  a  wailing  voice  by  the  bedside 
or  in  an  adjoining  room,  hoping  that  the  Almighty  will  hear 
and  have  mercy.  He  selects  verses  from  the  alphabetical 
Ps.  cxix.  that  correspond  to  the  letters  of  the  name  of  the 
stricken  one,  believing  that  this  acrostic  of  propitiation  will 
work  with  potent  charm.  And  when  he  sees  that  the 
breath  grows  feebler,  and  the  deathly  pallor  deeper,  and 
that  all  hope  is  vain,  he  utters  the  declaration  of  faith 
for  the  dying  to  repeat  :  “  Shema — Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord 
our  God,  the  Lord  is  one.  Blessed  be  the  name  of  His 
glorious  Kingdom  for  ever  and  ever.  The  Lord,  He  is  God. 
The  Lord,  He  is  God/’  For  some  moments  he  refrains 
from  touching  the  body,  to  make  sure  that  life  is  extinct, 
and  then  he  closes  the  eyes  and  covers  the  face  of  the  dead. 
He  makes  a  rent  in  his  garment,  as  also  do  the  other 
members  of  the  family,  and  all  who  hear  of  the  sad 
news  respond  :  "  Blessed  be  the  true  Judge.”  The  body  is 
washed  by  the  members  of  a  “  Holy  Brotherhood  ”  with 
traditional  rites,  and  a  talith  (“praying-shawl”) — symbol 
of  the  faith  of  the  synagogue — is  wrapped  around  it  before 
it  is  laid  into  the  coffin.  Many  relatives  and  friends  join 
in  the  funeral  procession,  for  to  accompany  the  dead  to 
their  last  resting-place  is  a  deed  of  enduring  merit.  An 
oil-wick  is  lit  in  memory  of  the  soul  that  has  fled,  and 
is  kept  alight  for  a  whole  week.  When  the  mourners 
return  home  the  father  and  brothers  of  the  departed,  first 
laving  their  hands  before  entering,  exchange  their  leathern 
footgear  for  slippers  of  cloth,  and  sit  on  low  stools  in 
token  of  sorrow.  They  break  their  fast  with  a  modest 
meal  of  bread  and  hard-boiled  eggs,  which  typify  by 
their  lack  of  an  opening  the  sealed  lips  of  the  mourner. 
The  frugal  repast  is  prepared  by  a  neighbour,  for  the 


74 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


mourners  may  not  eat  of  their  own  cooking  at  the  first 
meal  after  the  burial.  For  seven  days  (Shiva)  they  sit  at 
home  and  mourn,  abstaining  from  work  and  even  from  a 
careful  toilet.  Three  times  a  day  they  hold  divine  service, 
in  which  friends  and  members  of  their  synagogue  join,  and 
they  offer  up  the  prayer  of  Kaddish  (“  sanctification  ”)  in 
honour  of  the  memory  of  the  departed.  They  study  the 
pages  of  Holy  Writ,  above  all  the  Book  of  Job,  to 
solace  their  grief,  and  of  an  evening  the  Rabbi  expounds 
a  page  of  the  Talmud  or  a  chapter  of  the  Scriptures  to 
the  friends  who  come  to  console  and  remain  to  pray. 
“  May  the  Omnipresent  comfort  you  among  the  rest  of 
the  mourners  of  Zion  and  Jerusalem  !  ”  is  the  consolation 
uttered  by  visitors  as  they  leave  the  house,  the  words 
in  which  the  precentor  on  the  Sabbath  eve  welcomes  the 
mourners  back  to  the  synagogue.  And  whenever  the 
name  of  the  dead  is  mentioned  henceforth  it  is  coupled 
with  the  pious  invocation  :  “  Peace  upon  him  !  ”  and  upon 
every  anniversary  of  the  event  (Jahrzeit)  an  oil-wick  is  lit 
in  the  home  and  the  Kaddish  prayer  is  offered  up  by  the 
nearest  relative  in  the  synagogue. 


CHAPTER  V 


PHILANTHROPY 

“  For  the  poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the  land  :  therefore  I  command  thee, 
saying,  Thou  shalt  open  thine  hand  wide  unto  thy  brother,  to  thy 
poor,  and  to  thy  needy,  in  thy  land.” — Deut.  xv.  ii. 

Charity  a  basic  principle  of  Jewish  life — Administration  in 
ancient  and  mediaeval  times — Modern  principles  of  administration 
— Local  organizations — Methods  of  relief — Personal  service — 
The  financial  burden — Orphanages,  hospitals,  and  almshouses 
- — The  relief  of  Eastern  Jewry — Emigration  and  exceptional 
calamities 


HE  practice  of  charity  is  a  basic  principle  of 
Jewish  life,  and  forms  a  prominent  feature  of  every 
JL  communal  organization.  Ordained  in  the  Penta¬ 
teuch  as  a  commandment,  and  emphasized  throughout  the 
Bible  as  a  social  duty,  the  relief  of  the  poor  has  from 
the  earliest  times  always  received  the  ready  aid  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  and  the  zealous  care  of  the  community.  In  all 
the  centuries  of  gloom  and  oppression  that  have  lain  so 
heavily  upon  the  people  of  Israel,  the  cry  of  the  needy 
has  never  failed  to  be  heard.  Wealth  was  considered  as 
a  trust  from  God,  of  which  a  just  stewardship  required 
the  giving  of  a  portion  to  the  poor  who  stood  under  His 
especial  protection.  The  corner  of  the  field,  the  gleanings 
of  the  harvest,  the  forgotten  sheaf,  and  the  growth  of 
the  seventh  year,  were  all,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses, 
to  be  left  to  the  poor.  The  lofty  place  accorded  to 
charity  in  the  Jewish  scale  of  ethical  virtues  is  best 
attested  by  its  Hebrew  equivalent,  zedakah,  which  means 
“  righteousness.”  The  giving  of  alms  formed  the  supreme 
factor  of  a  righteous  life  in  ancient  Israel,  and  many  were 


75 


76 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  Biblical  maxims  that  were  interpreted  by  the  sages 
of  the  Talmud  in  this  sense,  and  many  the  doctrines  and 
parables  uttered  by  them  in  enforcement  of  the  virtue. 
“  Righteousness  delivereth  from  death”  (Prov.  xi.  4) 
meant  “  Charity  delivereth  from  death,”  an  interpretation 
that  found  expression  in  the  custom  that  still  prevails  of 
collecting  alms  at  a  funeral  in  a  box  styled  “  the  zedakah 
box.”  The  potency  thus  ascribed  to  charity  is  also  pro¬ 
claimed  in  pregnant  terms  in  the  synagogue  ritual  of  the 
New  Year  and  Day  of  Atonement  :  “  Repentance,  prayer, 
and  charity  avert  the  evil  decree,”  a  doctrine  that  still  pro¬ 
duces  an  effusive  display  of  benevolence  on  the  eve  of  those 
solemn  festivals.  Nor  is  it  enough  merely  to  give  alms, 
but  personal  kindness  must  also  be  shown,  as  in  hospitality 
to  wayfarers,  visiting  the  sick,  and  dowering  the  bride. 
So  highly  was  the  attribute  of  personal  kindness  esteemed 
by  the  Rabbis  of  ancient  times  that,  according  to  Simon 
the  Just,1  it  formed  with  the  Torah  and  divine  worship 
the  tripod  upon  which  the  world  rested.  Moreover,  it 
is  the  kindness  shown  in  bestowing  alms  which,  according 
to  another  sage,  decides  a  man’s  final  reward.2  The 
particular  needs  of  the  poor  must  be  studied  and  suitably 
relieved — such  was  the  meaning  of  the  Psalmist  in  de¬ 
claring  :  “  Blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the  poor  ” 
(xli.  2).  The  feelings  of  the  poor  man  must  also  be 
respected,  and  hence  “  giving  in  secret  ”  is  the  most 
estimable  method  of  help. 

Charity  became  a  matter  of  public  administration  in 
Jewry  in  the  earliest  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  and 
the  following  branches  of  benevolent  activity  are  enum¬ 
erated  in  Rabbinical  literature 3  :  feeding  the  hungry 
and  giving  the  thirsty  to  drink,  clothing  the  naked,  visiting 
the  sick,  burying  the  dead  and  comforting  the  mourners, 
redeeming  the  captives,  educating  the  fatherless  and 
sheltering  the  homeless,  and  providing  poor  maidens  with 
dowries.  In  every  community  there  was  a  charity-box 
(kuppah)  from  which  every  Friday  doles  were  given  to 

1  Aboth.,  i.  2.  2  Succah,  49 b. 

3  Moed  Kat.,  27 b  ;  Semahot,  xii. 


PHILANTHROPY 


77 


the  poor  of  the  town  for  their  meals  during  the  following 
week  and  for  clothing,  and  likewise  to  needy  wayfarers  ; 
and  there  was  also  a  charity-bowl  (tamhui)  containing 
victuals  needed  for  immediate  relief.  The  funds  for  the 
charity-box  were  collected  by  two  trustworthy  men,  and 
administered  b}'  three  overseers,  styled  gabba’e  zedakah  or 
parnassim  (from  Trpovoos),  who  were  chosen  from  the  fore¬ 
most  members  of  the  community  and  who  once  included 
in  their  number  the  martyr  Rabbi  Akiba.1  The  overseers 
of  the  poor,  anticipating  the  methods  of  a  modern  charity 
board,  decided  upon  the  merits  and  claims  of  the  applicants 
before  granting  them  aid  :  a  woman  was  given  precedence 
before  a  man,  and  a  student  of  the  law  before  an  ignoramus, 
whilst  care  was  taken  not  to  put  anyone  to  shame.  In 
addition  to  the  distribution  of  alms  there  was  in  the  early 
and  mediaeval  centuries  a  communal  hostel  where  the 
poor  traveller  obtained  food  and  shelter,  and  also  an 
asylum  (hekdesh)  which  served  both  as  a  home  for  the 
poor  and  as  a  hospital  for  the  sick  and  aged.  In  the 
course  of  time  the  primitive  charity-bowl  was  superseded 
by  private  hospitality  or  communal  kitchens  and  by  the 
activity  of  benevolent  societies,  whilst  the  relief  from  the 
charity-box  gradually  developed  into  the  manifold  activity 
of  a  properly  organized  charitable  society.  In  the  Middle 
Ages  such  societies  were  already  at  work  in  every  Jewish 
community  in  Europe  for  maintaining  and  clothing  the 
poor,  for  educating  the  children  of  the  poor,  endowing 
poor  maidens,  rearing  and  educating  orphans,  visiting 
the  sick,  aiding  sick  and  lying-in  women,  sheltering  the 
aged,  giving  the  poor  a  free  burial,  and  ransoming 
prisoners.2  This  last  branch  of  benevolent  activity  was 
the  product  of  the  tribulations  to  which  the  Jews  were 
exposed  by  their  frequent  expulsions  in  mediaeval  times, 
and  exacted  especial  efforts  from  the  Spanish  and  Italian 
Jews  owing  to  the  repeated  captures  of  their  brethren  by 
corsairs  of  the  Mediterranean. 

1  Kidd.,  28 a. 

2  See  I.  Abrahams,  Jewish  Life  in  the  Middle  Ages,  chaps,  xvii.  xviii. 
(London,  1896). 


78 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


All  the  methods  of  charity  practised  in  ancient  and 
mediaeval  Jewry  are  observed  with  undiminished  zeal  at 
the  present  day,  with  the  exception  of  the  ransoming  of 
prisoners,  for  which  there  has  been  no  call  since  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  have,  moreover,  under¬ 
gone  a  considerable  expansion  and  development  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  the  changed  conditions  of  modern  times, 
which  have  produced  additional  needs,  whilst  the  system 
of  administration  has  been  adapted  to  modern  principles 
and  is  conducted  by  a  voluntary  committee  aided  by  paid 
trained  officials.  Nay,  in  certain  respects,  such  as  the 
granting  of  loans  without  interest  and  the  provision  of 
medical  relief,  the  organization  of  charity  in  Jewry  may 
be  said  to  have  anticipated  the  methods  of  philanthropy 
in  the  world  at  large.  So  instinctive  is  the  exercise  of 
benevolence  among  a  people  that  has  suffered  more  than 
all  other  peoples  in  history  that  its  societies  for  this  purpose 
invariably  outnumber  the  communal  associations  for  any 
other  object.  When  the  Jews  in  1654  first  settled  in 
New  York,  then  called  New  Netherlands,  and  the  governor, 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  wished  to  expel  them,  the  directors  of 
the  Dutch  West  Indies  Company  instructed  him  that  they 
were  to  have  permission  to  remain  there  “  provided  the 
poor  among  them  shall  not  become  a  burden  to  the 
company  or  the  community,  but  be  supported  by  their 
own  nation.”  This  stipulation  simply  accorded  with  the 
traditional  principle  of  communal  administration  in  Jewry, 
which  has  always  looked  after  the  relief  of  its  own  poor. 
But  although  the  Jews  have  voluntarily  assumed  this 
task,  a  burden  that  is  readily  though  not  easily  borne  in 
every  country,  they  do  not  by  any  means  confine  their 
benevolence  to  their  own  community,  but  are  also  usually 
among  the  first  and  most  generous  donors  in  every  cause 
of  humanity,  such  as  the  support  of  hospitals  or  the  relief 
of  the  victims  of  some  extraordinary  catastrophe — a  fire, 
an  earthquake,  a  shipwreck,  or  a  war. 

It  would  be  impossible  here  to  trace  the  history  and 
organization  of  the  principal  charitable  bodies  in  the 
leading  centres  of  Jewry  :  such  a  task  would  demand  a 


PHILANTHROPY 


79 


volume  for  itself.  It  must  suffice  to  refer  briefly  to  the 
establishment  of  some  of  the  foremost  institutions  of  this 
kind,  and  to  give  a  general  survey  of  the  main  branches 
of  charitable  work  conducted  in  modern  Jewry.  Many  of 
the  institutions  in  London  date  from  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  ;  there  were  special  almshouses  already 
in  1823,  and  the  famous  Orphan  Asylum  was  founded 
in  1831.  The  Board  of  Guardians  for  the  Relief  of  the 
Jewish  Poor,  which  superseded  a  number  of  synagogue 
committees,  was  founded  in  1859,  although  the  parallel 
Board  of  the  older  Sephardic  community  has  been  active 
since  1837.  In  Paris  the  various  societies  were  amalga¬ 
mated  as  early  as  1809  as  the  Comite  de  Bienfaisance 
Israelite  de  Paris,  which,  in  addition  to  providing  relief  in 
money  and  kind,  promptly  established  a  complete  hospital 
service  for  the  poor.  In  most  of  the  large  cities  on  the 
Continent,  such  as  Berlin,  Vienna,  Amsterdam,  and  War¬ 
saw,  the  relief  of  the  poor  is  administered  not  by  an  in¬ 
dependent  board,  as  in  London  and  Paris,  but  by  a  com¬ 
mission  of  the  Communal  Council,  representing  a  union 
of  the  synagogues,  which  levies  a  special  tax  for  the  purpose. 
In  the  younger  community  of  New  York  the  first  important 
charitable  society,  the  German  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society, 
was  founded  in  1859,  and  a  few  years  later  the  Independent 
Order  Bnei  Brith  established  a  number  of  hospitals,  orphan 
asylums,  and  homes  for  the  Jewish  poor  in  various  cities 
of  the  United  States.  Similar  in  character  to  the  London 
Board  of  Guardians,  though  of  course  more  restricted  in 
scope,  are  the  boards  that  are  found  in  almost  every 
Jewish  centre  in  the  British  Empire  ;  and  to  the  same 
category  belong  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New 
York,  the  premier  charitable  agency  of  that  city,  and  the 
principal  benevolent  associations  in  all  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munities  of  the  United  States.1  But  whilst  all  these 
central  bodies  grant  relief  of  all  kinds  to  all  needy  members 
of  the  local  community,  there  are  hosts  of  other  agencies 
which  afford  some  special  kind  of  aid  to  a  more  limited 

1  Since  1899  the  Jewish  charities  in  the  United  States  hold  a  biennial 
convention. 


8o 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


circle,  such  as  the  distribution  of  food  and  clothing  and 
the  dowering  of  poor  marriageable  girls.  In  New  York 
alone  there  are  over  one  thousand  philanthropic  societies 
in  the  Jewish  community  ministering  to  every  conceivable 
need  of  the  helpless,  and  in  the  much  smaller  community 
of  London  there  are  close  upon  eighty.  A  distinctive 
feature  of  many  of  these  subsidiary  societies,  notably  in 
the  British  Empire  and  America,  is  that  they  are  formed 
by  immigrants  hailing  from  the  same  country  or  even 
the  same  town,  who  no  sooner  find  themselves  on  a  sure 
footing  in  their  adopted  home  than  they  organize  measures 
for  the  aid  of  their  fellow-countrymen  or  townsmen, 
their  former  companions  in  distress.  Apart  from  all  this 
organized  benevolence  there  is  an  untold  amount  of  private 
charity,  even  among  the  working  classes  themselves  :  it 
is  no  unusual  phenomenpn  in  an  English  town  to  see  a 
couple  of  respectably  dressed  men  or  women  on  a  Sunday 
collecting  small  gifts  from  door  to  door  in  aid  of  a  dis¬ 
tressed  family.  And  in  most  Jewish  homes  of  the  tra¬ 
ditional  type  there  is  a  charity-box  on  the  wall  for  some 
pious  object  in  the  Holy  Land. 

The  principle  by  which  the  leading  Jewish  charities 
are  guided,  such  as  the  Board  of  Guardians  in  London 
and  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  in  New  York,  is  to  assist 
the  poor  to  become  self-supporting  and  useful  members 
of  society.  Each  case  is  carefully  investigated  before 
relief  is  given  so  as  to  prevent  imposture  or  pauperization, 
the  object  of  the  administrators  being  to  inculcate  the 
ideal  of  self-help.  The  great  bulk  of  the  applicants  for 
relief  in  England  and  America  consists  of  immigrants  from 
Eastern  Europe,  who,  in  most  cases,  have  sold  up  their 
homes  to  procure  the  means  for  their  costly  journey,  and 
who,  on  arriving  in  the  new  land,  have  not  the  wherewithal 
to  set  up  a  home  or  to  keep  them  afloat  until  they  can 
find  work  or  start  a  business.  The  commonest  form  of 
aid,  therefore,  is  a  weekly  allowance,  which  is  continued 
until  the  recipient  is  able  to  earn  a  living.  But  very 
often  the  aid  takes  the  form  of  a  loan,  which  is  granted 
without  interest  and  is  repaid  in  weekly  instalments,  the 


PHILANTHROPY 


81 


margin  of  loss  incurred  being  surprisingly  small.1  It  is  by 
means  of  such  a  loan  that  many  an  immigrant  obtains  his 
first  start  in  the  struggle  that  faces  him  in  his  new  world, 
and  which,  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  thrift,  he  over¬ 
comes  so  successfully  that  he  not  only  repays  the  debt 
but  becomes  a  subscriber  to  the  charity  that  helped  him. 
In  more  serious  cases,  such  as  that  of  a  widow  with  a 
family  dependent  upon  her,  or  a  man  disabled  from  work 
by  age  or  infirmity,  a  fixed  allowance  or  pension  is  granted. 
A  great  amount  of  relief  is  also  given  in  kind,  in  the  form 
of  food  (bread,  meat,  groceries),  clothing,  and  coal,  as 
well  as  through  the  medium  of  soup-kitchens,  which 
exist  in  most  large  cities — London,  Paris,  Berlin,  Budapest, 
Warsaw,  and  other  centres.  A  special  occasion  for  the 
distribution  of  victuals  is  the  eve  of  the  Passover,  when 
matzos  (“  unleavened  bread  ”)  and  flour  are  given  to  the  poor 
for  the  proper  celebration  of  this  important  festival ; 
though  the  observance  of  the  other  festivals,  too,  and 
indeed  of  the  Sabbath  itself,  which  involves  somewhat 
more  than  a  frugal  fare,  often  necessitates  a  special  dis¬ 
tribution  of  food.  Besides  aid  in  money  and  in  kind  many 
important  charities  provide  day  nurseries  to  look  after 
the  children  of  mothers  who  have  to  work  away  from 
home  ;  they  maintain  workrooms  for  unskilled  women 
and  girls  who  learn  sufficient  of  a  simple  trade,  sewing  or 
embroidery,  to  be  able  afterwards  to  earn  a  living  by 
work  at  home ;  they  conduct  employment  bureaus  ; 
they  apprentice  boys  to  manual  trades  and  afterwards 
supply  them  with  tools  ;  they  give  special  allowances 
in  cases  of  maternity  ;  they  conduct  dispensaries  where 
free  medicine  is  given,  almshouses  where  the  aged  needy 
have  a  peaceful  retreat,  and  besides  there  are  homes  for 
the  incurable,  for  the  convalescent,  and  for  the  deaf  and 
dumb.  There  is,  indeed,  no  want  of  the  deserving  poor 
which  is  not  attended  to  with  thoughtful  consideration 
and  relieved  in  the  most  fitting  manner. 

1  The  loan  committee  of  the  London  Board  of  Guardians  states  in  the 
Annual  Report  for  1913  that  in  the  forty-seven  years  of  its  activity  the  bad 
debts  have  not  exceeded  2f  percent.  The  amount  lent  in  1913  was /21, 617. 

6 


82 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


The  assistance  is  not  confined  to  material  aid,  but  is 
supplemented  by  personal  visitation,  in  accordance  with 
the  traditional  Jewish  practice  of  bestowing  kindness 
(gemiluth  hesed),  organized  upon  systematic  lines.  This 
system  of  giving  personal  advice  and  kindly  help  by  volun¬ 
tary  visitors,  mainly  women,  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  is 
practised  in  almost  all  the  large  Jewish  centres  in  Western 
Europe  and  America,  and  forms  a  valuable  factor  in 
preventing  pauperization.  In  America  these  visitors  are 
organized  as  “  sisterhoods,”  and  they  are  so  welcome 
among  those  to  whom  they  minister  that  they  are  called 
“  mothers  of  the  poor.”  The  principle  underlying  this 
system  has  also  suggested  the  formation  of  mothers’ 
meetings  and  girls’  clubs,  where  friendly  talks  are  held  or 
instruction  is  given  in  domestic  management,  hygiene, 
and  simple  accomplishments  (such  as  embroidery  or 
drawing),  so  that  the  poor  may  forget  their  poverty,  or  at 
least  suffer  the  least  hurt  therefrom.  But  should  all  the 
aids  available  in  a  city  fail  to  make  a  recipient  of  relief 
self-supporting,  he  is  given  the  means  to  travel  to  some 
other  Jewish  centre  where  his  prospects  of  finding 
remunerative  work  are  better,  and  where,  on  arrival, 
he  is  lodged  in  a  temporary  shelter.  Thanks  to  the 
friendly  co-operation  between  the  charity  boards  of 
different  towns,  a  Jewish  vagrant  is  an  extremely  rare 
phenomenon. 

The  local  charitable  bodies  in  the  leading  cities  of  the 
Western  world  effect  their  purpose  on  the  whole  in  helping 
to  render  the  poor  immigrant  independent  of  support 
after  a  few  years  :  both  in  London  and  New  York  the  fre¬ 
quency  of  application  for  aid  by  the  arrivals  of  any  par¬ 
ticular  year  diminishes  in  every  succeeding  year.1  And  a 
still  more  notable  indication  of  the  gradual  rise  in  welfare 
of  the  poor  immigrant  consists  in  the  recent  diminution 


1  Of  1000  families  who  had  originally  applied  to  the  United  Hebrew 
Charities,  in  New  York,  for  assistance  in  October  1894,  as  many  as 
602  no  longer  applied  after  December  1894,  and  only  23  were  still 
obtaining  assistance  in  October  1904  ( The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America, 

p.  66). 


PHILANTHROPY 


83 


of  cases  for  relief  dealt  with  by  the  Board  of  Guardians  in 
London  and  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  in  New  York.1 
This  diminution  of  relief  is  only  partly  due  to  a  decline  in 
the  volume  of  immigration  from  the  lands  of  oppression  : 
it  is  in  the  main  due  to  the  industry,  perseverance,  and 
thrift  of  the  poor  themselves,  which  are  further  evidenced 
in  the  growing  number  of  mutual  loan  societies  and  friendly 
benefit  societies  in  all  English-speaking  countries.  The 
burden  of  poor  relief,  however,  is  heavy  enough.  The 
London  Board  has  disbursed  an  average  of  £27,690  per 
annum  in  direct  relief  (exclusive  of  the  cost  of  administra¬ 
tion)  during  the  last  few  years,  the  New  York  institution 
distributed  over  £51,620  in  the  year  1911-12,  and  the  Paris 
Comile  do  Bienfaisance  £28,750  in  1912-13.  The  Vienna 
community  spent  a  total  of  £39,230  upon  its  poor  and 
hospital  in  19 12-13,  while  the  richer  Berlin  community 
spent  £64,530  upon  its  poor  and  hospitals  in  1913-14. 
The  funds  for  charitable  purposes  in  English-speaking 
countries  are  derived  almost  exclusively  from  voluntary 
subscriptions  and  bequests,  whilst  in  most  Continental 
countries  the  major  portion  of  the  funds  is  supplied  by  a 
communal  tax. 

The  particular  care  of  the  community  has  always  been 
bestowed  upon  the  orphan,  the  sick,  and  the  aged.  Special 
asylums  for  orphan  children,  in  which  they  were  sheltered, 
clothed,  and  educated,  were  founded  as  early  as  the  eigh¬ 
teenth  century,  and  they  now  exist  in  nearly  every  country 
with  a  considerable  Jewish  population.  The  Orphan 
Asylum  in  London  was  founded  in  1795,  and  it  now  con¬ 
tains  400  children.  In  Paris  there  are  three  orphanages, 
one  of  which  is  maintained  entirely  by  the  Rothschild 
family,  and  in  Vienna  there  are  also  three.  In  Germany 


1  Cases  dealt  with  by — 


(a)  The  London  Board 

OF 

( b )  The  New  York 

Hebrew 

Guardians. 

Charities. 

1909  . 

•  4859  (1062  new 

cases) 

1910  . 

•  5655  (i59i 

new  cases) 

1910  . 

•  4359  (  897  „ 

„  ) 

1911  . 

.  5177  (1703 

»>  » »  ) 

1911  . 

.  4039  (  800  „ 

„  ) 

1912  . 

•  4589  (1369 

> >  i>  ) 

1912  . 

.  3746  (  827  „ 

„  ) 

1913  • 

•  3348  (  772  „ 

»  ) 

84 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


there  are  over  forty  such  institutions,  mostly  on  a  smaller 
scale,  eleven  of  which  are  in  Berlin  alone,  whilst  in  the 
United  States  there  are  nearly  twenty,  distributed  in  all 
the  large  cities,  two  of  which  in  New  York  contain  about 
iooo  children  each.  Apart  from  these  asylums,  orphan 
children  are  in  many  cases  boarded  with  private  families 
at  the  expense  of  the  community.  Jewish  hospitals  exist 
likewise  in  all  the  leading  centres,  both  in  the  East  and 
the  West,  in  which  the  dietary  laws  are  observed  and  the 
patients  are  able  to  conform  with  the  practices  of  their 
religion.  They  are  found  in  Paris  and  Amsterdam,  in 
Berlin  and  Vienna,  in  Tunis  and  Constantinople,  in  New 
York  and  Jerusalem.  In  the  United  States  alone  there 
are  twelve,  a  third  being  in  New  York  ;  in  Germany  there 
are  over  thirty,  Berlin  and  Frankfort  having  three  each  ; 
and  in  Russia  there  are  a  hundred  and  twelve,  the  larger 
ones  being  in  the  southern  and  south-western  provinces. 
In  England,  at  present,  there  is  only  one  Jewish  hospital, 
in  Manchester,  but  there  is  also  a  project  on  foot  for  the 
establishment  of  one  in  the  East  End  of  London,  where 
the  large  Jewish  population,  speaking  mainly  Yiddish  and 
faithfully  devoted  to  the  precepts  of  their  faith,  renders 
such  an  institution  a  necessity.  Many  of  the  hospitals 
have  a  dispensary  service  for  out-patients’  relief,  and  in 
connection  with  some  of  them  there  is  also  a  training 
school  for  nurses.  Like  the  orphan  and  the  sick  the  aged 
needy,  too,  enjoy  the  special  care  of  the  community,  which 
does  not  permit  them  to  wander  into  the  cold  and  alien 
atmosphere  of  a  public  workhouse,  but  provides  them 
with  comfortable  accommodation  in  a  special  home.  Such 
homes  or  almshouses,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  have 
been  established  in  England,  France,  Germany  (where 
there  are  over  twenty),  the  United  States,  and  other  com¬ 
munities.  And  when  the  poor  have  been  released  at  last 
from  all  their  earthly  sufferings,  they  are  laid  to  rest  at  the 
communal  expense. 

Manifold  and  generous  as  is  the  charity  dispensed  by 
the  Jews  in  Western  countries  for  the  relief  of  their  dis¬ 
tressed  brethren  at  home,  it  forms  but  a  part  of  their 


PHILANTHROPY 


85 


benevolent  activity,  which  is  equally  extended  to  their 
oppressed  brethren  in  the  East.  Indeed,  one  of  the  most 
distinguishing  features  of  modern  Jewish  philanthropy  is 
the  solicitude  and  munificence  devoted  by  the  Jews  of 
the  West  to  the  aid  of  their  harried  co-religionists  in  the 
East.  Persecution  in  Russia  and  Rumania,  economic 
misery  in  Galicia,  outlawry  in  Persia  and  Morocco,  fire 
and  plague  in  Turkey,  these  and  a  succession  of  other 
evils  make  one-half  of  the  Jewish  people  a  permanent 
charge  upon  the  other.  To  cope  with  this  vast  amount 
of  suffering  there  are  elaborate  and  efficient  organizations 
in  the  leading  capitals  of  Europe,  each  of  which  has  a 
definite  sphere  of  labour,  whilst  all  act  in  co-operation  in 
periods  of  exceptional  crisis.  They  devote  considerable 
attention  fo  the  furtherance  of  primary  education,  so  that 
the  children  of  the  East  may  be  in  a  better  position  than 
their  fathers  to  help  themselves.  The  “  Alliance  Israelite  ” 
of  Paris,  the  Anglo- Jewish  Association  of  London,  and  the 
“  Hilfsverein  ”  of  Berlin  have  provided  the  communities 
of  the  Orient  with  a  comprehensive  network  of  schools,  the 
Jewish  Colonization  Association  subventions  a  great  many 
schools  in  Russia  and  Rumania,  and  the  “  Israelitische 
Allianz  ”  of  Vienna  assists  schools  in  Galicia  and  Bukowina. 
These  elementary  institutions  are  supplemented  by  an 
array  of  technical  schools,  mainly  in  Russia  and  Galicia, 
at  which  young  Jews  and  Jewesses  are  taught  a  trade  that 
enables  them  to  earn  a  living.1  But  the  principal  aid 
is  of  a  material  kind,  and  consists  partly  in  large  grants  to 
the  agricultural  colonies  in  Russia,  advances  to  the  mutual 
loan  banks  in  Russia  and  Galicia,  and  subventions  for 
local  charitable  objects,  and  partly  in  the  establishment 
of  agricultural  colonies  in  America.  The  Jewish  Coloniza¬ 
tion  Association  has  advanced  over  seven  millions  sterling  to 
the  furtherance  of  Jewish  agriculture  in  Russia,  it  has  pro¬ 
vided  the  capital  necessary  for  688  loan-banks  in  Russia,  and 
24  (with  39  branches)  in  Galicia,  but  it  devotes  its  main 

1  The  Jewish  Colonization  Association  maintains  19  technical  schools 
for  boys,  and  16  for  girls,  besides  evening  courses  for  artisans,  in  Russia, 
and  also  4  agricultural  schools  in  Russia,  and  1  in  Galicia. 


86 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


energy  and  the  better  part  of  its  capital  of  ten  millions  to 
the  promotion  of  its  colonies  in  the  Argentine  and  Brazil, 
which  have  been  peopled  with  the  victims  of  Russian 
barbarity  and  now  number  24,000  souls. 

Between  the  relief  of  distress  in  the  Old  World  and  the 
settlement  of  the  distressed  in  the  New,  lies  the  great  problem 
of  emigration,  whose  solution  demands  the  unflagging  and 
concerted  activity  of  a  dozen  organizations.  Since  1904 
there  has  been  a  Central  Bureau  for  the  affairs  of  Jewish 
emigration  in  Berlin  under  the  management  of  the  “  Hilfs- 
verein,"  which  deals  with  the  brunt  of  the  work  involved 
by  the,  exodus  of  100,000  Jews  a  year  from  Eastern  Europe 
to  the  free  lands  across  the  seas,  most  of  whom  pass  through 
Germany.  This  organization  is  assisted  by  thirty-two 
committees  at  all  the  frontier  stations,  harbours,  and  rail¬ 
way  junctions  of  Germany  ;  it  procures  reduced  fares  from 
the  shipping  companies  and  facilities  from  Government  and 
local  authorities  ;  and  it  provides  the  emigrants  on  the  way 
with  food,  clothing,  shelter,  medical  aid,  and  information 
and  help  of  every  kind.  Its  efforts  are  supplemented  by 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association,  which  has  a  central 
bureau  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  450  local  offices  in  all  parts  of 
Russia  ;  by  the  “  Israeli tische  Allianz/'  which  assumed 
special  charge  of  emigrants  from  Galicia  and  Rumania ; 
by  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization,  which  deflects  the 
tide  of  American-bound  emigration  to  a  certain  extent  to 
Galveston  ;  and  by  special  committees  in  Antwerp  and 
Rotterdam,  Basle  and  Copenhagen,  London  and  New  York. 
From  his  misery-stricken  townlet  in  the  Pale  of  Settlement 
to  the  Statue  of  Liberty  in  New  York  harbour  the  Jewish 
emigrant  is  sedulously  aided  at  every  stage  in  his  long  and 
toilsome  journey  to  reach  the  goal  of  his  desire  ;  nor  does 
help  cease  on  his  arrival  in  the  “  land  of  promise,"  for, 
besides  a  host  of  charities  in  every  city,  there  is  in  New  York, 
and  likewise  in  Montreal,  a  wealthy  foundation  endowed  by 
the  late  Baron  de  Hirsch,  which  relieves  the  new-comer  by 
providing  free  instruction  in  English,  by  teaching  him  a 
trade  and  supporting  him  during  his  training,  by  transport¬ 
ing  him  to  his  relatives  or  to  a  place  where  his  employment 


PHILANTHROPY 


87 


prospects  are  better,  or  by  advancing  him  a  loan  to  settle 
on  a  farm.  In  no  other  sphere  of  philanthropic  endeavour 
is  the  solidarity  of  the  Jewish  people  so  clearly  manifested 
as  in  the  comprehensive  measures  adopted  to  secure  the 
emigrant’s  welfare.  One  exception,  indeed,  there  is,  namely, 
in  cases  of  extraordinary  calamity,  when  spontaneous  efforts 
are  made  by  all  the  leading  organizations,  and  by  a  multitude 
of  subsidiary  bodies  too,  to  bring  speedy  relief  to  the  sufferers. 
Then,  as  when  the  Russian  pogroms1  of  1905  swept  away 
thousands  of  lives  and  desolated  thousands  of  homes,  or 
when  the  Balkan  War  plunged  tens  of  thousands  of  families 
into  ruin,  the  Jews  of  the  Old  World  work  hand  in  hand  with 
their  brethren  across  the  ocean  to  bring  aid  and  solace  to 
the  sorrowing  victims.2 

1  The  word  ‘'pogrom,”  which  means  “riot,”  is  Russia’s  latest  gift  to 
the  English  language. 

2  The  total  amount  raised  by  all  the  Jewish  philanthropic  organizations 
for  the  relief  of  the  victims  of  the  pogroms  in  1905-06,  was  ^500,000. 
The  amount  expended  by  the  Jewish  organizations  upon  the  relief  of  the 
Jewish  victims  of  the  Balkan  Wars  was  ^40,000. 


CHAPTER  VI 


MORALITY 

The  morality  of  the  family — Jewish  wrongdoing  exaggerated — 
Protective  and  preventive  measures — The  rate  of  criminality  in 
Jewry  lower  than  among  the  general  population — Jewish  crimin¬ 
ality  determined  by  economic  conditions — Ratio  of  criminality 
corresponds  to  relative  ratio  of  Jews  in  affected  trade — Comparative 
rarity  of  crimes  of  violence 

j  ^  HE  importance  of  right  living  is  insisted  upon  with 
singular  emphasis  throughout  the  literature  of  the 
L  Jewish  people.  Purity  both  in  private  and  public 
life  is  the  keynote  of  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  Pentateuch 
and  of  the  glowing  exhortations  of  Prophets  and  Psalmists  ; 
it  forms  the  recurring  refrain  in  the  monumental  tomes  of 
the  Talmud  and  the  dominant  note  in  all  the  legal  codes 
and  ethical  works  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  contents  of  the 
Decalogue  afford  the  surest  testimony  to  the  moral  sense  of 
ancient  Israel  :  the  ranging  of  perjury  and  covetousness 
along  with  the  grosser  crimes  of  murder  and  theft  bespeaks 
a  deep  insight  into  human  nature  and  a  high  standard  of 
social  conduct.  The  moral  consciousness  of  ancient  Israel 
has  been  transmitted  unimpaired  to  modern  Jewry,  rendered 
more  sensitive,  if  anything,  by  the  experience  of  centuries  of 
wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the  nations.  It  finds  its  simplest 
and  readiest  expression  in  the  family  circle,  in  the  relations 
between  husband  and  wife,  between  parents  and  children. 
The  moral  purity  of  the  home  has  been  characteristic  of 
Jewish  life  from  time  immemorial ;  marital  infidelity  is  com¬ 
paratively  unknown  in  Eastern  Europe,  and  is  much  less 
frequent  among  Jews  than  among  non- Jews  in  the  Western 
world.  Similarly,  the  harmony  of  filial  relations  and  the 

support  of  aged  parents  by  children  obtain  in  much  greater 

88 


§ 


MORALITY 


89 


degree  in  Jewish  than  in  non- Jewish  families.  The 
divergency  in  these  respects  that  has  manifested  itself  in 
recent  years  is  mainly  due  to  the  fugitive  wanderings  which 
Jews  are  compelled  to  make  to  foreign  lands.  The  husband 
who  leaves  his  wife  in  Russia  with  the  object  of  founding 
a  better  home  in  America  occasionally  succumbs  to  the 
charms  of  another  woman  in  his  new  surroundings  and 
abandons  his  lawful  wife  to  her  fate  ;  such  phenomena  add 
to  the  tragedy  of  Jewish  dispersion,  but  on  the  whole  the 
cases  are  few  in  relation  to  the  vast  tide  of  migration  that 
surges  across  the  Atlantic  every  year.  And  the  lessened 
respect  shown  by  the  children  of  immigrants  in  America  for 
their  Russian-born  parents  is  the  result  of  the  modern 
education  that  is  suddenly  thrust  upon  them  and  which 
induces  a  feeling  of  contempt — as  heartless  as  it  is  un¬ 
justifiable — for  the  uncouth  ways  and  speech  of  their 
elders.  But  despite  these  blemishes  the  morality  of  the 
Jewish  family/  in  the  West  as  well  as  in  the  East,  compares 
very  favourably  in  regard  to  chastity,  sobriety,  and  general 
temperance  with  the  ethical  standard  of  its  environment. 

Imbued  from  childhood  with  sound  moral  doctrines,  the 
Jew  is,  nevertheless,  but  human — and  it  is  human  to  err. 
The  frailties  of  the  individual,  however,  are  often  exaggerated 
by  prejudiced  critics,  who  visit  the  sins  of  the  few  upon  the 
nation  at  large,  and  thus  attempt  to  prove  the  inferior 
morality  of  Jewry.  The  appearance  of  a  Jew  in  a  police 
court  attracts  more  than  ordinary  attention  because  of  his 
difference  of  type  and  the  occasional  necessity  of  an  in¬ 
terpreter  ;  the  sensation-loving  press  seizes  upon  each  case 
and  decks  it  out  with  striking  head-lines  for  the  delectation 
of  its  readers  ;  and  hence  arises  the  impression  of  enormous 
iniquity  on  the  part  of  the  Jew.  But  the  very  prominence 
given  to  J ewish  cases  of  wrongdoing  only  serves  to  emphasize 
their  comparative  infrequency.  The  magistrates  at  British 
and  American  courts  have  often  borne  public  testimony  to 
the  law-abiding  character  of  the  Jew  when  having  to  pass 
judgment  upon  a  Jewish  offender,  and  it  is  no  rare  practice 
for  them  to  refer  cases,  in  which  both  parties  are  Jews,  to 
the  local  Rabbi  for  peaceful  settlement.  The  Rabbis, 


90 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


either  individually  or  through  the  local  Beth  Din  (Ecclesiasti¬ 
cal  Court),  exert  every  effort  to  prevent  Jewish  litigants 
from  airing  their  plaints  in  the  public  courts  when  these 
relate  merely  to  civil  matters,  and  their  arbitration  is  very 
often  accepted.  They  are  animated  in  these  endeavours  by 
their  jealousy  for  the  repute  of  their  community  and  by 
the  desire  to  prevent  a  “  profanation  of  the  Name  ” — an 
expression  commonly  applied  to  a  scandal  which  casts  a 
shadow  upon  the  fair  fame  of  the  Jewish  people.  The 
innate  sobriety  of  the  Jew,  however,  combined  with  his 
industry  and  family  devotion,  protects  him  from  vices  that 
afflict  his  Christian  neighbour  :  drunkenness  is  a  very  rare 
phenomenon  in  Jewish  districts,  and  its  natural  products, 
wife-beating,  street-brawling,  and  acts  of  personal  violence, 
are  equally  rare.  No  more  convincing  illustration  of  the 
superior  conduct  of  the  Jewish  poor  could  be  advanced  than 
the  transformation  that  has  taken  place  within  the  last 
twenty  years  in  certain  streets  in  the  East  of  London,  which, 
once  the  dangerous  haunt  of  native  thieves  and  murderers 
and  the  scene  of  daily  brawls,  have  become,  since  their 
occupation  by  hard-working  Jewish  immigrants,  quiet  and 
orderly  thoroughfares  that  can  well  dispense  with  the 
supervision  of  the  police.1 

The  modern  Ghetto  is,  as  a  rule,  the  most  peaceful 
quarter  in  a  Western  town,  and  the  Jewish  authorities  are 
always  on  the  alert  to  stamp  out  any  evil  in  its  midst. 
Systematic  measures  are  adopted  in  particular  to  suppress 
the  white  slave  traffic  in  every  country  afflicted  by  the 
pest,  and  effective  co-operation  was  rendered  by  the  London 
Board  of  Deputies  in  securing  the  recent  parliamentary 
Act  for  the  prompter  arrest  and  severer  punishment  of 
those  who  batten  on  this  traffic.2  The  dangers  to  which 
women  and  girls  travelling  alone  from  Eastern  Europe 
to  England,  America,  or  some  other  land  of  refuge,  are 

1  See  The  Jew  in  London,  by  C.  Russell  and  H.  S.  Lewis,  p.  176 ;  and 
Minutes  of  Evidence  and  Report  of  Royal  Commission  on  Alien  Immigration 

(1903). 

2  The  Criminal  Law  Amendment  Act  of  1912,  which  facilitates  the 
apprehension  of  the  procurer  and  authorizes  the  infliction  of  a  flogging 
upon  conviction. 


MORALITY 


9i 


peculiarly  exposed,  have  called  into  existence  a  special 
Association  in  England,  which  combines  with  similar  bodies 
on  the  Continent  and  in  America  to  protect  these  unsuspect¬ 
ing  travellers  from  the  snares  and  pitfalls  around  them. 
In  London,  New  York,  and  other  large  centres  there  are 
homes  where  they  are  lodged  and  looked  after  until  they 
can  be  handed  over  to  their  friends,  or  where  those  who 
have  already  been  led  astray  can  be  reclaimed  to  the  path 
of  virtue.  Cognate  with  this  activity  are  the  efforts  made 
for  the  reformation  of  delinquents,  young  and  old.  Until 
recent  years  juvenile  crime  was  unheard  of  in  the  Jewish 
community,  but  it  has  now  made  its  unwelcome  appearance 
in  the  big  cities  in  consequence  of  the  congestion  and  bad 
housing  conditions  in  poor  quarters.  The  children  are 
forced  to  play  in  the  streets,  or  engage  in  the  selling  of  news¬ 
papers  and  matches  to  eke  out  the  slender  family  budget, 
and  are  thus  contaminated  by  the  vicious  influences  of 
street  life.  The  communal  authorities  endeavour  to 
counteract  this  noxious  tendency  by  apprenticing  boys 
to  a  trade  after  they  leave  school,  and  by  providing  clubs 
which  will  shield  them  from  the  temptations  of  card¬ 
gambling  and  horse-betting  rampant  around  them.  But 
despite  these  preventive  measures,  or  because  they  are  not 
radical  and  comprehensive  enough,  boys  fall  into  evil 
ways  and  call  for  redemption.  An  Industrial  School  for 
Jewish  boys  has  been  founded  at  Hayes  (Middlesex),  at 
which  the  inmates  are  taught  useful  trades  by  which  they 
can  afterwards  earn  an  honest  living.  There  is  a  similar 
institution  in  New  York,  known  as  a  Protectory,  and  way¬ 
ward  children  in  that  and  other  cities  in  America  are  also 
committed  to  the  care  of  probationary  or  “  parole  ”  officers. 
Delinquents  of  an  older  age  are  visited  in  prison  by  the 
local  Rabbi,  who  tries  to  win  them  back  to  the  path  of 
honest  industry,  and  they  are  helped  after  their  release  to 
obtain  employment  or  to  reach  relatives  or  friends  in 
another  country  by  special  societies  in  London,1  New 
York,  and  other  large  cities. 

1  The  United  Synagogue  Discharged  Prisoners’  Aid  Society  assisted 
170  discharged  prisoners  in  the  year  1913,  of  whom  68  were  reported  later 


92 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


The  Jews  have  always  laid  claim  to  possessing  a  record 
as  law-abiding  citizens,  and  their  claim  is  proved  by  all  the 
statistics  available.  In  Russia,  which  contains  nearly 
half  of  the  Jews  in  the  world,  only  42 77  Jews  were  con¬ 
victed  in  1907,  forming  only  2*97  per  cent  of  the  total 
number  of  persons  convicted  in  the  country  in  that  year.1 
The  Jews  at  the  last  Russian  census  in  1897  formed  4*13 
per  cent  of  the  total  population,  but  owing  to  the  large 
dimensions  of  their  emigration,  which  has  probably  counter¬ 
balanced  their  natural  increase,  and  owing  to  the  un¬ 
affected  increase  of  the  general  population,  they  probably 
now  form  only  4  per  cent  of  the  total  population.  Hence, 
according  to  this  ratio  they  should  provide  400  convicted 
persons  per  10,000,  whereas  the  number  they  actually  pro¬ 
vided  in  the  last  year  for  which  figures  are  available  was 
only  297.  This  favourable  result  is  all  the  more  remark¬ 
able  in  view  of  the  host  of  exceptional  laws  in  force  against 
them,  and  the  barbarous  severity  with  which  they  are 
applied.  Still  more  instructive  is  the  record  of  the  Jews 
in  other  countries  based  upon  a  larger  series  of  years. 
In  Austria,  in  the  period  1880-1902,  the  Jews  had  a  crimin¬ 
ality  of  100  among  100,000  Jews  as  compared  with  122  for 
the  Christian  population.2  In  Hungary,  in  the  period  1906- 
09,  there  were  1 106-8  convictions  among  100,000  Jews, 
against  1679  among  100,000  Christians  ;  the  Jews  pro¬ 
vided  only  3*36  per  cent  of  the  total  convictions,  although 
they  form  5-02  of  the  population.3  In  Germany  the 
annual  proportion  of  Jewish  convictions  in  the  years  1903- 
06  was  830*2  per  100,000  as  compared  with  854*1  per 
100,000  of  the  Christian  population  4 ;  whilst  in  Prussia,  in 
1910,  there  were  only  1128  convictions  among  100,000 
Jews  above  the  age  of  12  as  compared  with  1214  among 
100,000  Christians  of  the  same  punishable  age.5  In  Holland 

to  be  doing  well  and  a  great  number  were  lost  sight  of,  whilst  only  15 
were  re-arrested. 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie .  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1912,  "  Zur 
Kriminalitat  der  Juden  in  Russland,”  pp.  127-131. 

2  Dr.  J.  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich  (1908),  p.  141. 

3  Zeitschrift  f.  Demog.,  No.  4,  1911. 

4  Ibid.,  1909,  p.  50.  6  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  87. 


MORALITY 


93 


the  proportion  of  convictions  in  1898-1902  was  182*7  Per 
100,000  Jews  as  against  297*8  per  100,000  Christians.1 
The  statistics  published  in  the  United  States  show  similar 
conditions  :  thus,  the  number  of  Jewish  inmates  in  the 
four  State  prisons  of  New  York,  on  3rd  December  1913, 
was  457  out  of  a  total  of  4639,  which  is  only  9*4  per 
cent,  whereas  the  Jewish  population  of  the  State  of  New 
York  is  about  1,200,000  in  a  total  of  9,000,000,  or  about 
13  per  cent.  “  On  the  same  date  the  number  of  Jewish 
inmates  in  the  Tombs,  penitentiary,  and  workhouse — the 
prisons  of  New  York  City — was  494  out  of  3403,  being 
17*5  per  cent,  whilst  the  Jewish  population  of  the  city 
is  about  20  per  cent  of  the  whole.  If  we  eliminate  the 
Tombs,  in  which  are  confined  persons  who  have  not  been 
brought  to  trial,  and  many  of  whom  are  no  doubt 
innocent,  we  find  that  there  were  in  the  penitentiary  and 
workhouse  223  Jews  out  of  a  total  of  2309  inmates, 
being  less  than  10  per  cent.”  2  In  England  there  has 
been  a  steady  decline  in  the  number  of  Jews  imprisoned 
in  the  Metropolis  since  1904,  although  the  Jewish  popu¬ 
lation  increases  from  year  to  year  both  naturally  and 
by  means  of  immigration.  The  decline  has  been  as 

follows : 3 * — 

Jews  imprisoned  in  Wandsworth,  Pentonville,  Wormwood  Scrubbs, 

and  Holloway  Prisons 

1904.  1905.  1906.  1907.  1908.  1909.  1910.  1911.  1912.  1913. 

7W  7I5  5i3  434  4S9  433  358  286  342  324 

During  the  last  few  years  the  number  of  Jews  in  these 
prisons,  together  with  Parkhurst,  at  the  end  of  each  year 
has  been  as  follows  : — 

On  31st  December  1908  .  121  On  31st  December  1911  .  62 

,,  „  1909  •  104  „  „  1912  .  67 

„  „  1910  .  84  ,,  „  1913  .  97 

/ 

In  the  year  1911  the  proportion  of  convictions  among 


1  Zeitschrift  f.  Demog.,  No.  2,  1905. 

2  American  Hebrew,  12th  December  1913,  p.  200. 

3  Report  of  the  Visitation  Committee  of  the  United  Synagogue,  1913. 

These  figures  include  persons  who  served  terms  of  imprisonment  pending 

payment  of,  or  in  default  of  paying,  fines  (including  judgment  debtors). 


94 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  general  population  in  the  United  Kingdom  was  439 
per  100,000,  whereas  among  the  160,000  Jews  in  Greater 
London  (who  form  three-fifths  of  the  Jews  in  the  United 
Kingdom)  the  number  of  convictions  was  only  286,  which 
corresponds  to  178  per  100,000.  Criminality  among  the 
Jews  in  the  United  Kingdom  is  thus  less  than  half  as 
frequent  as  among  the  general  population.  These  facts 
deserve  to  be  pondered  by  those  who  allege  that  the  im¬ 
migration  of  Jews  into  Britain  brings  an  undesirable 
element  into  the  country. 

The  low  record  of  Jewish  convictions  is  all  the  more 
notable  as  the  Jews  are  pre-eminently  an  urban  people, 
among  whom  crime  is  generally  more  rife  than  among 
a  population  distributed  over  rural  as  well  as  urban  dis¬ 
tricts.  Moreover,  in  examining  the  nature  of  their  crimin¬ 
ality,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  conditions  of  their  environ¬ 
ment,  the  character  of  their  occupations,  and  their  general 
intellectual  status.  The  statistical  investigations  made 
in  the  principal  countries  on  the  Continent,  Russia,  Austria- 
Hungary,  and  Germany,  have  shown  that  Jewish  crime 
is  practised  far  more  against  property  than  against  persons, 
that  it  more  often  takes  the  form  of  fraud  than  of  violence 
or  brutality.  These  investigations  only  bear  out  what  one 
would  naturally  expect  of  a  highly  cultured  people,  namely, 
that  they  should  sin  more  with  their  brains  than  with  their 
hands.  The  wrongdoing  of  the  Jew  is  usually  characteristic 
of  his  particular  occupation,  and  must  be  considered  in 
connexion  with  the  general  liability  of  those  engaged  in 
that  occupation  to  transgress  the  laws  affecting  it.  The 
majority  of  Jewish  offences  are  committed  in  the # exercise 
of  the  various  branches  of  trade  and  commerce  as  a  result 
of  their  undue  preponderance  in  these  occupations.  Thus, 
in  Russia,  although  the  Jews  form  only  4  per  cent  of 
the  total  population,  they  contributed  27-12  per  cent  to  the 
convictions  for  trade  and  commercial  trespasses  (in  1907). 
But  38*65  per  cent  of  the  Jews  are  engaged  in  trade  as 
compared  with  only  3-77  of  the  rest  of  the  population, 
that  is,  Jews  are  proportionately  ten  times  more  numerously 
represented  in  trade  than  non- Jews.  Hence,  if  Jewish 


MORALITY 


95 


merchants  had  sinned  to  the  same  degree  as  their  Russian 
colleagues,  their  percentage  of  the  trade  offences  would 
have  been  40  instead  of  27-12. 1  In  all  the  other  categories 
of  offences  in  which  the  Jewish  percentage  exceeds  the 
Jewish  ratio  of  the  population  in  Russia,  this  percentage 
is  even  less  than  half  of  the  normal  40,  which  provides  a 
convincing  testimony  to  the  honesty  of  the  Jewish  business¬ 
man  in  Russia.  The  Jewish  trespasses  against  Government 
and  local  ordinances  amounted  to  17-10  per  cent,  and  are 
the  result  mainly  of  administrative  decrees  relating  to  the 
restriction  of  the  rights  of  domicile  and  school  attendance 
which  are  issued  in  far  greater  number  against  the  Jews 
than  against  any  other  section  of  the  population,  and 
which  inevitably  provoke  revolt.  Similarly  the  Jews 
accounted  for  12-42  per  cent  of  the  convictions  for  in¬ 
fringing  the  laws  regarding  public  security  :  most  of  these 
laws  relate  to  the  prevention  of  pogroms,  the  incitement  to 
which  could  certainly  not  be  favoured  by  Jews,  but  they 
also  include  severe  and  capricious  press  by-laws,  the  in¬ 
fraction  of  which  inevitably  follows  from  the  struggle  for 
liberty.  The  attitude  of  hostility  forced  upon  the  Jews 
also  accounts  for  their  providing  io-6  per  cent  of  those 
condemned  for  State  crimes.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Jews  show  a  percentage  below  their  ratio  to  the  general 
population  in  every  kind  of  theft  and  robbery  (2-41)  and 
burglary  (1*48),  whilst  their  record  is  even  lower  still  as 
regards  personal  assault  (ri2)  and  murder  (m). 

The  general  features  of  Jewish  criminality  as  manifested 
in  Russia  are  paralleled  by  the  conditions  in  Western 
Europe  and  America,  except,  of  course,  that  crimes  against 
the  State  are  not  by  any  means  as  prominent.  Dr.  Ruppin 
sets  forth  in  tabular  form  the  crimes  in  which  Jews  are 
proportionately  represented  in  a  higher  degree  than 
Christians,  and  also  those  in  which  Christians  are  repre- 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1912.  It  is 
instructive  to  note  that  the  total  convictions  of  Jews  in  Germany  in 
1 903—06  would  be  reduced  from  830'2  to  6o8'2  per  100,000  Jews  if  all 
trade  offences  were  eliminated,  whilst  a  similar  elimination  in  the  case  of 
Christian  convictions  would  only  reduce  them  from  854'  1  to  802 '8  per 
100,000  Christians  [ibid.,  1909,  p.  52). 


96 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


sented  in  a  higher  degree,  upon  the  basis  of  the  statistical 
reports  of  Germany  (1903-06),  Austria  (1898-1902), 
Hungary  (1904),  and  Holland  (1902).1  An  examination 
of  this  table  shows  that  the  penal  offences  of  which  the 
Jews  are  convicted  in  a  higher  degree  are  those  of  usury, 
fraudulent  bankruptcy,  fraud,  disseminating  immoral 
publications,  blackmail,  evasion  of  conscription,  frustrating 
legal  executions,  forgery,  libel,  and  duelling.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  penal  offences  of  which  Christians  are 
convicted  in  a  higher  degree  are  defiance  of  State  authority, 
theft,  robbery,  burglary,  injury  to  property,  arson,  injury 
to  persons,  and  murder  (including  homicide  through 
negligence  and  abortion).  It  will  be  seen  that  most  of 
the  categories  in  which  the  Jews  are  more  liable  to  trans¬ 
gress  are  connected  with  commercial  occupations  in  which 
they  are  proportionately  more  numerously  engaged  than 
their  Christian  fellow-citizens.  Thus,  in  Germany,  in  1903- 
06,  and  also  in  1909-10,  the  ratio  of  convictions  for 
fraudulent  bankruptcy  was  *5  per  100,000  among  Jews 
and  *i  among  Christians  ;  but  whilst  over  55  per  cent 
of  the  Jews  in  Germany  are  engaged  in  various  forms  of 
business,  only  13-4  per  cent  of  the  general  population 
are  devoted  to  such  pursuits,  and  hence  the  higher  ratio 
of  fraudulent  bankruptcies  among  Jews  fairly  corresponds 
to  the  higher  ratio  of  Jews  in  commerce.2  In  Austria  the 
ratio  of  Jews  convicted  of  fraudulent  bankruptcy  in  1880- 
1902  was  eight  times  the  ratio  among  Christians  ;  but 
the  ratio  of  Jews  engaged  in  business  in  that  country  is 
twelve  times  the  ratio  of  Christians.3  The  degree  of 
delinquency  on  the  part  of  Jews  can  only  be  properly 
estimated  by  a  comparison  of  the  ratio  they  provide  in 
different  occupations  with  their  ratio  of  corresponding 
trade  offences,  and  these  two  ratios  fairly  equalize  one 
another.4  There  are,  moreover,  special  circumstances  to 


1  Die  Juden  dev  Gegenwart  (2nd  edition,  1911),  p.  223. 

2  Dr.  J.  Segall,  Die  beruflichen  und  sozialen  V  erhaltnisse  der  Juden  in 
Deutschland,  p.  26. 

3  J.  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  144. 

4  Die  Juden  der  Gegenwart,  p.  226. 


MORALITY 


97 


account  for  the  higher  degree  of  delinquency  among  Jews 
in  regard  to  certain  offences.  Thus,  the  proportion  of 
Jews  in  Germany  convicted  in  1903-06  of  infringing  the 
Sunday  closing  laws  was  129*4  per  100,000,  as  compared 
with  only  17  among  the  Christian  population.1  This 
is  obviously  due  to  the  inability  of  the  Jew  who  strictly 
observes  the  Sabbath  from  sunset  on  Friday  until  Saturday 
night  to  sacrifice  the  Sunday  also  by  keeping  his  shop  or 
warehouse  closed.  It  is  probable  that  the  ratio  of  con¬ 
victions  for  this  offence  is  somewhat  similar  among  the 
Jews  in  England  and  America,  but  no  statistical  record 
is  available.  But  of  a  cognate  character  are  the  frequent 
convictions  for  infringing  some  local  traffic  by-law,  to 
which  the  numerous  J  ewish  hawkers  and  pedlars  in  London 
and  New  York  are  liable,  owing  partly  to  their  ignorance 
of  the  law  and  partly  to  the  assiduity  with  which  they 
pursue  their  vocation.  It  is  also  of  interest  to  note  that 
the  convictions  for  the  evasion  of  military  service  in 
Germany  in  1909-10  amounted  to  25*3  per  100,000  among 
Jews  as  against  9*9  among  Christians,2 — a  disproportion 
due  to  the  greater  tendency  of  Jews  to  emigrate  as  well 
as  to  their  utter  lack  of  prospects  in  the  German  army. 
Jews  have  also  been  punished  one  and  a  half  times  as  often 
as  their  neighbours  in  Prussia  for  duelling  (the  proportion 
being  *3  as  against  *2  per  100,000),  doubtless  owing  to  the 
inordinately  large  proportion  of  Jews  among  university 
students,  who  regard  the  duel  as  the  only  honourable 
method  of  settling  disputes,  and  owing  to  the  frequency 
of  such  disputes  between  Jews  and  Christians  in  an  Anti- 
Semitic  atmosphere.  But  the  absolute  figures  are  fifty- 
nine  duels  among  Christians,  and  only  one  duel  among  Jews.3 

On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  Russia, 
crimes  involving  violence,  whether  against  property  or  the 
person,  such  as  robbery,  assault,  manslaughter,  and  murder, 
are  much  rarer  among  Jews  than  among  Christians.  In 
Germany  (1903-06)  arson  and  theft  were  committed  thrice 
more  by  Christians  than  by  Jews,  robbery  nine  times  more, 

1  Zeitschrift  fiir  Demographie  und  Statistik,  1909,  p.  51. 

2  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  92.  3  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  88. 


7 


g8 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


injurious  assault  thrice  more,  and  murder  seven  times 
more.1  In  Hungary  (1906-09)  arson  was  committed  half 
as  often  again  by  Christians  as  by  Jews,  theft  and  robbery 
were  committed  twice  as  often,  injurious  assault  nearly 
six  times,  and  murder  seven  times  as  often.2  In  Austria 
(1880-1902)  arson  was  committed  more  than  twice  as 
often  by  Christians  as  by  Jews,  robbery  nearly  thrice  as 
often,  injurious  assault  more  than  thrice,  and  murder  more 
than  twice  as  often.3  On  the  other  hand,  the  Jews  in 
Amsterdam  (1901-04)  showed  a  slightly  higher  ratio  of 
convictions  for  violent  assault,  18*7  per  cent  of  all  Jewish 
convictions  being  due  to  this  offence  as  compared  with  15*2 
among  the  general  population.4  The  superior  frequency 
of  crimes  of  violence  among  the  Jews  in  Amsterdam  as 
compared  with  their  brethren  in  other  parts  is  doubtless 
due  to  their  being  largely  employed  as  artisans  in  the 
diamond  industry,  the  predisposition  to  settle  quarrels  by 
a  resort  to  fisticuffs  naturally  obtaining  more  strongly 
among  the  working  classes  than  among  a  predominantly 
commercial  population  such  as  the  Jews  in  Germany. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  we  see  that  the  delinquency 
of  the  Jews  consists  mainly  of  breaches  of  the  laws  and 
regulations  governing  the  business  pursuits  in  which  they 
are  engaged,  and  generally  corresponds  to  the  ratio  by 
which  they  are  represented  in  them.  It  springs,  for  the 
most  part,  from  the  nature  of  their  economic  situation, 
and  is  eminently  free  from  the  vice  and  brutality  that 
account  for  the  grossest  crimes  in  the  world  of  human 
iniquity. 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographic  und  Stat.  2  Ibid.,  1911,  p.  59. 

3  J.  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  144. 

4  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Stat.,  1907,  p.  190. 


CHAPTER  VII 


SOCIAL  LIFE 

Domestic  diversion — Family  festivities  and  indoor  games — 
Social  clubs,  literary  societies,  and  public  functions — Fraternal 
orders  and  benefit  societies — Students’  unions — Athletic  sports — 
Theatres — Cafes — Summer  resorts 

HAVING  surveyed  the  Social  Aspect  of  Modern 
Jewry  from  every  main  angle  of  vision,  we  now 
come  to  a  review  of  social  life  in  its  more  con¬ 
ventional  and  intimate  sense,  to  a  description  of  the 
forms  and  fashions  in  which  Jewry  spends  its  leisure  and 
seeks  recreation  and  amusement — its  domestic  diversions 
and  festivities ;  its  games  and  pastimes ;  its  clubs, 
institutes,  and  public  functions ;  its  fraternal  orders, 
students’  unions,  and  athletic  associations  ;  and,  last  but 
not  least,  the  frequenting  of  theatres  and  the  flocking 
to  summer  resorts. 

The  typical  Jew  of  the  modern  as  of  the  mediaeval 
Ghetto  finds  his  most  congenial  recreation  in  the  study  of 
the  Talmud.  When  the  toil  of  the  day  is  over  and  the 
evening  repast  is  finished  and  the  grace  has  been  devoutly 
said,  he  takes  down  from  his  shelf  of  Hebrew  literature  a 
heavy  leather-bound  tome  of  the  Talmud,  frayed  at  the 
edges  from  years  of  use,  and  in  the  glow  of  the  lamp  he 
cons  a  page  from  some  treatise  on  festival  services  in 
the  Temple  or  on  ethical  virtues,  reading  the  text  aloud 
in  a  quaint  traditional  sing-song  and  accompanying  the 
solemn  argument  with  nods  of  the  head  and  downward 
scoops  of  the  outstretched  thumb,  all  heedless  of  the 
world  without  and  its  crowd  of  fleeting  pleasures.  Wrapped 
in  the  lore  of  his  ancestors  he  moves  in  a  sphere  of  the 

99 


100 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


highest  bliss,  whilst  at  his  side,  meek  and  devoted,  sits 
his  wife,  diligently  plying  a  needle  or  perchance  bending 
likewise  over  a  Yiddish  version  of  the  Pentateuch,  full 
of  legends,  parables,  and  pious  reflections.  She  listens 
lovingly  to  the  voice  of  her  husband,  vainly  striving  ever 
and  anon  to  follow  the  sacred  mysteries,  but  venturing  not 
to  interrupt  the  trend  of  thought  or  flow  of  argument. 
Yet  if  a  neighbour  looks  in  they  both  readily  break  off 
their  diversion  and  give  him  a  cordial  welcome,  eagerly 
entering  into  a  discussion  of  domestic  or  communal  affairs — 
the  last  letter  from  a  son  in  South  Africa,  a  rumoured 
engagement,  or  the  forthcoming  appointment  of  a  new 
Rabbi — which  occasionally  wanders  into  the  more  turbulent 
region  of  W eltpolitik.  The  lady  bestirs  herself  to  offer  the 
guest  a  glass  of  tea  with  lemon,  or  if  the  cause  of  his  visit 
be  of  joyous  moment  she  sets  a  bottle  of  wine  or  whisky 
with  glasses  upon  the  table,  and  a  dish  of  home-made 
beetroot  jam,  dispensing  a  kindly  hospitality  which  serves 
to  gratify  her  taste  for  gossip.  She  is  always  “  at  home,” 
unlike  her  rich  sister  in  the  more  fashionable  part  of  the 
city,  who  receives  only  on  fixed  days,  the  second  Sunday 
and  fourth  Thursday,  and  who  gives  occasional  dinner¬ 
parties,  card-parties,  or  garden-parties,  and  otherwise 
faithfully  observes  the  latest  conventions  of  modern 
society. 

The  placid  hours  of  domestic  life  in  the  Ghetto  are 
sufficiently  varied  by  festivals  and  fasts,  with  their  ex¬ 
acting  requirements  of  dietary  and  house-cleaning,  to 
banish  all  thought  or  desire  for  outside  pleasures,  whilst 
a  series  of  family  celebrations — circumcision,  redemption 
of  the  first-born,  Bar-mitzvah,  betrothals,  and  weddings 
— supply  all  the  merriment  that  is  wished  for  in  these 
modest  circles.  It  is  at  the  weddings  of  their  children 
or  of  their  relatives  or  friends  that  the  pious  old  folks  hear, 
as  a  rule,  the  only  music  and  see  the  only  dancing  that 
enliven  the  even  tenor  of  their  days  ;  and  the  Jewish 
folk-melodies  (wistfully  recalling  half-forgotten  scenes  of 
long  ago  in  their  native  townlet  in  Russia  or  Galicia),  the 
measured  dances  (innocent  of  the  degenerations  of  an 


SOCIAL  LIFE 


ioi 


immodest  age),  and  the  learned  or  witty  speeches  at  the 
long  and  many-coursed  dinner,  leave  a  happy  impression 
that  remains  for  months.  A  daughter  in  the  home  gener¬ 
ally  involves  the  acquisition  of  a  piano,  for  she  will  not  be 
outshone  by  her  friends  in  social  accomplishments,  and 
although  the  father,  with  his  serious  view  of  life,  may 
oppose  the  introduction  of  the  instrument,  the  indulgent 
mother,  with  an  eye  to  the  conquest  of  a  desirable  young 
man,  encourages  the  girl’s  ambition  and  secures  its  gratifi¬ 
cation.  Only  upon  one  occasion  in  the  year  are  the 
sounds  of  unusual  revelry  heard  beneath  the  family  roof, 
namely,  upon  the  feast  of  Purim,  when  everybody  must 
make  so  merry  and  drink  so  freely  that  he  “  cannot  dis¬ 
tinguish  between  Haman  and  Mordecai,”  and  when  a 
group  of  masked  minstrels  ( Badchanim )  go  from  house  to 
house  to  sing  jovial  songs  to  the  strains  of  a  rickety  violin 
or  to  perform  a  short  comic  play.  But  these  minstrels, 
though  still  surviving  in  Eastern  communities,  are  met 
with  more  and  more  rarely  in  the  Western  world,  where 
theatre  and  music-hall  develop  a  too  critical  taste. 
Similarly,  a  traditional  feature  of  Chanucah,  the  game  of 
trendel,  a  teetotum  with  Hebrew  letters  on  its  four  faces, 
which  is  played  upon  this  festival  in  Eastern  Europe,  has 
failed  to  maintain  itself  in  the  West,  though  games  with 
nuts  may  still  be  seen  played  by  children  in  the  Passover 
week  in  the  streets  of  the  modern  Ghettos.  No  pastime 
of  former  days,  however,  can  compare  with  the  fascinating 
attractions  of  chess  or  the  tempting  allurements  of  cards. 
The  indulgence  in  cards,  often  played  for  high  stakes,  is 
found  among  all  classes,  but  is  pursued  here  and  there 
to  pernicious  excess,  leading  to  occasional  reproof  from  the 
Rabbi  in  his  Sabbath  sermon.  But  chess  enjoys  a  deep- 
rooted  and  widespread  affection  in  intellectual  circles, 
dating  from  mediaeval  times,  and  is  even  allowed  on  the 
Sabbath,  whilst  the  abnormally  high  proportion  of 
champions  contributed  by  modern  Jews  affords  the  best 
testimony  of  the  skill  they  have  achieved  in  the  game. 

The  social  life  of  the  community  in  the  mass  takes  on  a 
host  of  varied  forms,  reflecting  the  ideals,  interests,  and 


102 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


pleasures  of  different  classes.  A  cluster  of  clubs  and 
societies  attract  different  elements,  offering  a  varied 
programme  of  entertainment  and  instruction,  much  of 
which  is  concentrated  upon  the  Saturday  and  Sunday 
nights  of  the  winter  months,  alternating  with  rambles  and 
picnics  in  the  summer.  In  the  large  centres  there  are  not 
only  clubs  for  working-men,  often  with  a  membership  of 
over  a  thousand,  and  likewise  for  boys,  in  the  management 
of  which  the  leisured  class  take  an  active  part,  but  also 
clubs  for  girls,  who  are  taught  both  useful  and  ornamental 
accomplishments  and  give  occasional  entertainments  for 
the  benefit  of  their  parents  and  friends.  The  clubs  in 
English-speaking  countries  are  furnished  with  all  the 
means  of  amusement  and  recreation — billiard-tables,  chess, 
draughts,  and  dominoes,  with  a  reading-room  and  library 
for  those  more  studiously  inclined ;  lectures  and  debates 
are  held  upon  Jewish  and  general  topics  ;  concerts  and 
theatrical  performances  give  budding  talents  an  opportunity 
of  display,  and  the  indispensable  balls  and  soirees  provoke 
cordial  relations  between  members  and  their  lady  friends. 
The  “  social  and  literary  societies/’  having,  as  a  rule,  no 
permanent  premises  of  their  own  like  the  clubs,  meet  in 
synagogue  council-chambers,  hotels,  concert -halls,  or  even 
in  private  houses  ;  they  generally  have  more  important 
debates  and  a  superior  list  of  lectures,  some  of  which 
are  given  by  speakers  from  other  cities  or  other  countries, 
whose  visits,  if  they  be  well-known  personages,  occasion 
the  delivery  of  a  weighty  message,  perchance  of  a  propa¬ 
gandist  nature,  and  often  attract  an  overflowing  audience. 
Such  visits  have  in  recent  years  become  of  increasing 
occurrence.  They  are  exchanged  between  the  Jewries  of 
England  and  America,  and  also  between  them  and  those 
of  the  Continent,  serving  to  improve  a  mutual  under¬ 
standing  and  to  fortify  the  sentiment  of  solidarity.  In 
many  large  cities,  in  America  as  well  as  in  Europe,  the 
social  and  intellectual  life  of  the  working  class  revolves 
round  an  institute  modelled  on  Toynbee  Hall ;  in  Berlin 
and  Vienna,  in  Lemberg  and  Cracow,  it  is  actually  called 
the  Jewish  Toynbee  Hall,  in  London  it  is  the  Jewish 


GHETTO  MINSTRELS 


FROM  THE  DRAWING  BY  I.EONID  PASTERNAK 


SOCIAL  LIFE 


103 


Institute,  in  Paris  the  Jewish  Popular  University,  in  New 
York  the  Hebrew  Educational  Alliance.  These  institutions 
comprise  a  library  and  reading-room  in  which  books  and 
newspapers  of  Jewish  interest  form  the  main  feature.  Free 
popular  lectures  and  concerts  are  held,  whilst  sometimes 
courses  are  given  in  the  language  of  the  country  for  immi¬ 
grants.  Public  dinners  are  held  now  and  again  to  promote 
some  worthy  cause  or  celebrate  some  important  event, 
bringing  together  a  large  circle  of  interested  persons  in 
convivial  array  who  listen  to  the  speeches  with  sympathy 
tempered  by  an  irrepressible  tendency  to  criticize  ;  or  the 
institution  or  movement  to  be  furthered  may  be  aided  by  a 
bazaar,  to  which  titled  magnates  of  the  community,  and 
just  as  readily  the  Mayor  of  the  city  himself,  lend  their 
patronage,  and  in  which  the  wives  of  prominent  members, 
with  their  husband-hunting  daughters,  vie  with  one 
another  in  their  personal  co-operation.  Gifts  in  kind 
are  there  received  not  only  from  shopkeepers  great  and 
small,  but  also  from  a  score  of  “  Dorcas  ”  and  needlework 
guilds,  which  meet  alternately  in  the  homes  of  members 
to  sew  useful  undergarments  and  discuss  the  latest  gossip 
over  tea.  Once  a  year  the  children  of  the  communal  schools 
and  classes  assemble  in  their  best  attire  for  the  prize  dis¬ 
tribution,  when  they  go  through  a  programme  of  songs, 
recitations,  and  musical  drill  to  the  delight  of  their  admiring 
parents,  and  the  chairman  delivers  himself  of  his  views 
upon  current  educational  problems.  And  remote  from 
all  the  motley  hubbub  of  the  Ghetto,  broken  ever  and 
anon  by  the  strident  bells  of  a  cyclists’  corps  out  for  a 
Sunday  run,  or  the  martial  band  of  a  lads’  brigade  swinging 
along  with  spirited  step, — seated  in  the  quiet  seclusion 
of  a  humble  synagogue  the  faithful  followers  of  the  Talmud, 
parents  and  greybeards,  pursue  their  pious  study  under 
the  guidance  of  a  hoary  Rabbi  and  celebrate  the  com¬ 
pletion  (Siyum)  of  a  treatise  with  a  humble  feast  in  the 
selfsame  scene,  where  mundane  discourse  freely  com¬ 
mingles  with  spiritual  themes. 

Jewish  life  since  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  is  also  distinguished  by  three  other  forms  of 


io4 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


organization  for  social  purposes  :  the  fraternal  order  or 
friendly  society,  the  university  students’  union,  and  the 
athletic  association.  The  fraternal  orders,  whose  origin 
is  traced  to  the  Chema  Kadisha  (Holy  Society)  or  burial 
society  mentioned  in  the  Talmud,1  are  particularly 
numerous,  far  exceeding  the  clubs  and  literary  societies ; 
they  abound  in  thousands  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and 
flourish  especially  in  English-speaking  countries.  The 
oldest,  most  important,  and  most  widely  ramified  of  these 
organizations  is  the  Independent  Order  Bnei  Brith  (Sons 
of  the  Covenant),  which  was  founded  in  1843  in  New  York 
by  a  number  of  German  Jews  under  the  lead  of  Henry 
Jones,  and  which  now  comprises  over  400  lodges  with 
a  membership  exceeding  34,000,  drawn  from  the  middle 
and  upper  classes  and  scattered  over  the  United  States, 
England,  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  Rumania,  Turkey, 
Egypt,  and  Palestine.  Founded  to  inculcute  the  principles 
of  charity,  benevolence,  and  brotherly  love,  and  barring 
from  its  meetings  all  political  and  religious  controversy, 
the  Bnei  Brith  Order  has  not  only  strengthened  the  bonds 
of  solidarity  between  the  dispersed  communities  of  Israel, 
but  has  also  accomplished  a  great  amount  of  social  and 
philanthropic  work  :  it  has  established  hospitals,  orphan 
asylums,  schools,  and  libraries  in  the  United  States,  and 
rendered  valuable  relief  to  the  persecuted  Jews  of  Eastern 
Europe.  Most  of  the  lodges  have  premises  of  their  own, 
some  of  them  exceedingly  commodious  and  sumptuous, 
which  not  only  serve  as  a  social  rendezvous  but  constitute 
a  fertile  source  of  humanitarian  effort.  But  among  the 
larger  class  less  favoured  by  fortune  the  fraternal  order 
enjoys  an  even  greater  popularity,  for,  apart  from  its 
social  attractions,  it  provides  cheap  insurance  against 
sickness  or  unemployment,  and  sundry  money  benefits, 
and  is  very  often  simply  called  a  benefit  society.  Orders 
of  this  kind  have  sprung  up  in  great  number  in  England  2 
and  America  during  the  last  thirty  years  and  are  still  on 

1  Moed  Katon,  27 b. 

2  Over  thirteen  pages  in  the  Jewish  Year  Book  for  1914  (pp.  67-80) 
are  devoted  to  an  enumeration  of  these  societies  in  England. 


SOCIAL  LIFE 


105 


the  increase  from  year  to  year,  drawing  their  membership 
almost  exclusively  from  the  ranks  of  the  immigrants  from 
Eastern  Europe  and  owing  their  multiplicity  to  the  love 
of  the  Russian  and  Galician  Jew  for  society-formation 
and  to  local  patriotism.  Several  of  these  orders  in 
America  have  over  a  hundred  lodges  each,  the  largest 
being  the  Brith  Abraham,  with  684  lodges  and  185,000 
members,  and  a  number  of  them  have  recently  combined 
to  create  a  national  Jewish  Fraternal  Congress  with  a 
membership  of  600,000.  The  largest  organization  in 
England,  the  Grand  Order  of  Israel,  has  sixty-two  lodges, 
eight  of  them  situated  in  South  Africa  and  Canada. 
Besides  the  large  orders,  some  of  which  bear  a  purely 
Jewish  name,  whilst  others  are  designated  “  Hebrew  Order 
of  Druids  ”  or  “  Oddfellows,”  there  is  a  host  of  unattached 
friendly  societies,  many  of  which  are  called  after  the 
native  town  of  the  original  members. 

The  students’  unions  at  universities  are  of  somewhat 
later  development,  for  it  was  not  until  the  last  quarter 
of  the  nineteenth  century  that  the  Jewish  students  at 
any  of  the  principal  seats  of  learning  were  numerous 
enough  to  form  a  society  of  their  own.  The  first  organiza¬ 
tion  was  founded  in  1882  in  Vienna  by  Jewish  students 
from  Russia,  Rumania,  and  Galicia,  who  entitled  their 
society  Kadimah,  which  means  both  “  Eastward  ”  and 
“  Forward,”  as  an  indication  of  the  ideal  of  a  resettlement 
in  Palestine  which  they  advocated.  Since  then,  partly 
as  a  result  of  the  advance  of  Zionism  and  partly  as  a  result 
of  the  Anti-Semitic  attitude  of  the  general  students’ 
corps  on  the  Continent,  separate  societies  have  been 
formed  by  the  Jewish  students  at  almost  every  university 
at  which  they  number  at  least  a  dozen,  and  are  now 
found  in  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  Russia,  Switzerland, 
France,  and  Holland.  Some  of  these  societies  owe  their 
existence  simply  to  the  exclusion  of  Jews  from  the  general 
corporation,  and  they  adopt  a  passive  attitude  on  Jewish 
questions,  but  the  majority  are  animated  by  the  ideal  of 
Jewish  nationalism  and  actively  foster  the  Zionist  cause. 
The  Jewish  nationalist  societies  in  Germany  are  grouped 


106  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

into  two  organizations,  the  “  Bund  Jiidischer  Corpora- 
tionen,”  founded  in  1901,  with  a  membership  of  over 
600  (graduates  and  undergraduates),  and  the  smaller 
“  Kartell  Zionistischer  Verbindungen,”  founded  five  years 
later,  with  a  membership  of  250.  The  Zionist  students' 
societies  in  Holland  were  federated  in  1908,  but  those  in 
other  Continental  countries  pursue  an  unattached  existence. 
Established  to  assert  and  promote  the  principle  of  Jewish 
nationalism  these  corporations  have  nevertheless  adopted 
all  the  methods  and  conventions  of  German  corporations  : 
they  each  have  their  distinctive  colours  and  they  hold 
“  beer  evenings  ”  at  which  the  students  sing  spirited 
songs  in  swelling  chorus  around  tables  which  they  bang 
with  their  beer-mugs,  presided  over  by  officers  who  are 
accoutred  in  a  gorgeous  uniform  and  armed  with  a  sword 
that  does  duty  alternately  as  chairman’s  hammer  and 
conductor’s  baton.  But  their  songs  tell  not  of  Teuton 
valour  but  of  Jewish  hope,  breathing  the  spirit  of  a 
rejuvenated  people.  Besides  these  convivial  gatherings 
the  members  cultivate  the  study  of  Jewish  history, 
literature,  and  modern  problems,  and  also  practise  fencing 
so  as  to  be  prepared  for  any  duel  in  which  they  might 
be  involved  in  vindication  of  the  Jewish  name.  The 
Jewish  societies  at  the  universities  in  English-speaking 
countries  are  not,  like  the  Continental  corps,  the  inevitable 
product  of  an  unfriendly,  environment,  but  voluntary 
associations  for  the  study  of  Jewish  questions  and  for  social 
intercourse.  The  Jewish  students  in  England,  and  to  a 
less  extent  in  the  United  States,  join  the  societies  of  their 
university ;  but  their  racial  sympathies  prompt  them 
also  to  fraternize  with  one  another.  Thus,  Oxford  has 
its  Adler  Society  and  Cambridge  its  Schechter  Society, 
whilst  at  both  universities  there  is  also  a  Zionist  Society. 
Moreover,  in  the  United  States,  “Menorah”  societies  for 
the  study  of  Jewish  history  and  the  discussion  of  Jewish 
questions  have  been  formed  at  twenty-five  Universities 
and  organized  into  an  Intercollegiate  “  Menorah  ”  Associa¬ 
tion  with  over  1000  members. 

A  more  remarkable  development  than  either  the 


SOCIAL  LIFE 


107 


fraternal  orders  or  students’  societies  are  the  Jewish  athletic 
and  gymnastic  societies  that  have  sprung  up  during  the 
last  twenty  years.  The  love  of  sport,  a  conception  almost 
entirely  foreign  to  the  Jew  of  former  times,  has  been 
fostered  in  the  modern  generation  in  its  schooldays  and 
has  led  to  the  participation  of  Jews  in  all  branches  of 
athletics,  in  some  of  which  they  have  achieved  distinction. 
Jewish  pugilists  in  England  had  already  acquired  a  reputa¬ 
tion  a  hundred  years  ago,  but  they  formed  a  somewhat 
abnormal  phenomenon  in  the  life  of  the  time.  To-day 
the  cultivation  of  sport  has  become  an  essential  feature 
of  Jewish  life,  and  the  “  Ghetto  bend  ”  in  Western 
countries  can  only  be  seen  on  the  backs  of  immigrants. 
Cricket  and  football  clubs  now  occupy  a  regular  place  in 
the  list  of  communal  organizations,  and  matches  take 
place  as  a  rule  on  Sunday,  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath 
not  permitting  them  on  a  Saturday.  The  large  number 
of  these  clubs  in  London  has  led  to  the  formation  of  a 
Jewish  Athletic  Association.  The  importance  of  swimming 
was  urged  over  sixteen  centuries  ago  by  a  sage  in  the 
Talmud  and  is  universally  recognized  in  Jewry  at  the 
present  day.  No  Jew  has  yet  swum  the  English 
Channel,  but  Captain  Webb,  who  was  the  first  to  perform 
the  feat,  had  a  Jewish  trainer,  Marquis  Bibbero  ;  and 
Jabez  Wolffe  has  more  than  once  very  nearly  completed 
the  coveted  achievement.  On  the  Continent  the  love  of 
sport  has  manifested  itself  most  extensively  in  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  gymnastics.  Stimulated  by  the  new  spirit  of 
Zionism,  which  appreciated  the  value  of  mens  sana  in 
corpore  sano,  gymnastic  societies  were  formed  in  Germany, 
Austria-Hungary,  Switzerland,  Rumania,  Bulgaria,  and 
Turkey,  drawing  their  most  enthusiastic  adherents  from 
the  ranks  of  university  students  and  comprising  women 
as  well  as  men.  There  are  nearly  forty  such  societies 
altogether,  federated  into  a  single  association  (“  Judische 
Turnerschaft  ”),  with  headquarters  in  Berlin  ;  it  comprises 
over  5000  members  and  has  an  organ  of  its  own  besides 
a  special  song-book.  Rambling  and  rowing  have  also 
been  taken  up  with  ardour,  and  on  the  Spree,  the  Elbe, 


io8  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

and  the  Danube  may  be  seen  competing  crews  with 
distinctive  Jewish  colours  and  badges.  Particularly 
interesting  is  the  recent  progress  of  the  gymnastic  move¬ 
ment  among  the  Jews  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.  The 
Maccabee  Gymnastic  Society  in  Constantinople  has 
found  so  many  imitators  in  Syria  and  Palestine  that  it 
has  organized  them  into  a  league  comprising  about  1000 
members,  with  Hebrew  as  the  language  of  command. 
In  Palestine  alone  there  are  already  a  dozen  societies  in 
all  the  leading  colonies,  urban  and  rural,  and  the  first 
Gymnastic  Conference  in  the  autumn  of  1912  was  a 
significant  event  of  the  Jewish  renaissance  in  the  Holy 
Land.  Cognate  with  the  enthusiasm  for  outdoor  sports 
is  the  success  that  has  attended  the  development  of  the 
Jewish  Lads’  Brigade  in  England,  which,  founded  in  1895 
by  the  late  Colonel  Albert  Goldsmid,  now  comprises 
nearly  2000  members  and  holds  a  northern  and  southern 
camp  every  year.  The  boy  scouts’  movement  has  also 
found  many  followers  among  the  younger  generation. 

In  the  centre  of  Jewish  affections  stands  the  theatre,  to 
the  modern  development  of  which  Jewish  genius — dramatic 
and  histrionic — has  contributed  so  much.  Jews  are  most 
ardent  theatre-goers  in  every  country,  attending  premieres 
with  almost  religious  zeal,  and  managers  are  so  dependent 
upon  their  patronage  that  they  must  reckon  with  their 
susceptibilities  in  deciding  upon  new  productions.  Satur¬ 
day  nights  and  the  evenings  after  the  close  of  festivals  are 
generally  spent  in  a  theatre,  in  which  the  daughters  of  Israel 
are  occasionally  lavish  in  their  display  of  jewels — or  does  not 
their  darker  and  more  pronounced  type  attract  more  atten¬ 
tion  to  their  personal  adornments  than  is  bestowed  upon  the 
rest  of  the  feminine  audience  ?  Frequent  in  their  attend¬ 
ance  at  the  playhouse  the  Jews  have  a  fine  critical  faculty 
and  often  determine  the  fate  of  a  play.  They  are  passionate 
lovers  of  good  music,  prominent  among  the  admirers  of 
every  star  in  the  musical  firmament  ;  while  they  show 
particular  generosity  in  facilitating  the  debut  of  every  fresh 
genius  among  their  people,  which  is  peculiarly  prolific  of 
prodigies.  The  denizens  of  the  Ghetto  have  theatres  of 


SOCIAL  LIFE 


109 

their  own,  with  their  own  dramas  and  operas  in  Yiddish, 
and  their  own  local  stars  and  favourites.  In  Warsaw  and 
Odessa,  in  Lemberg  and  Bucharest,  and  in  London  and  New 
York  there  are  permanent  Yiddish  theatres — three  in  New 
York  alone — at  which  the  operas  of  Abraham  Goldfaden 
and  the  dramas  of  J  acob  Gordin,  not  to  mention  the  works 
of  lesser  lights,  are  played  before  crowded  audiences,  who 
are  as  tempestuous  in  their  disapproval  as  they  are  lavish 
in  their  applause.  Most  of  the  operas  are  based  upon 
episodes  of  Jewish  history,  whilst  the  dramas,  which  mainly 
deal  with  problems  of  modern  Jewish  life,  are  frequently 
given  a  musical  setting.  But  a  great  many  Yiddish  plays 
are  simply  adaptations  of  non- Jewish  dramas,  a  weakness 
being  shown  for  those  of  a  sensational  nature  ;  and  as  the 
numerical  limitations  of  the  Ghetto  public  involve  a  frequent 
change  of  bill,  which  means  a  trying  task  for  the  actors’ 
memory,  the  prompter’s  box  is  unfortunately  a  con¬ 
spicuous  feature  of  the  stage. 

An  hour  or  two  after  the  theatre,  apart  from  the  hours 
of  the  rest  of  the  day,  are  spent  in  a  cafe,  of  which  the  Jews, 
with  their  love  of  discussion,  are  among  the  most  regular 
devotees.  In  all  the  large  cities,  from  Amsterdam  to  Con¬ 
stantinople,  Jews  may  be  seen  in  animated  conversation  at 
particular  coffee-houses,  and,  just  like  the  rest  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  different  sections  or  parties  within  the  Jewish 
communityf oregather  in  different  cafes  as  in  different  camps, 
discussing  the  latest  events  of  communal  or  political  interest 
and  fashioning  their  future  policy.  Thus  Cafe  Monopol  in 
Berlin  is  sacred  to  the  Zionists,  whilst  the  Jews  of  **  liberal  ” 
tendency  prefer  to  drink  their  coffee  in  the  neighbouring 
Cafes  Bauer  and  Victoria.  The  same  phenomenon  is  mani¬ 
fest  in  the  Jewish  quarter  of  New  York,  where  the  Zionists, 
the  Socialists,  and  the  Territorialists,  and  the  satellites  of 
various  local  authors,  actors,  poets,  and  pundits,  each  have 
their  favourite  resort  for  the  leisure  hours  before  midnight 
— and  after. 

Following  in  the  footsteps  of  fashion  the  Jews  flock 
every  year,  in  ever-increasing  numbers,  to  the  world’s 
leading  watering-places,  seeking  recuperation  for  body  and 


no 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


mind.  Excluded  from  the  summer  resorts  of  Russia  and 
likewise  from  the  principal  hotels  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
United  States,  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  both  these  countries 
take  their  holiday  in  the  well-known  resorts  of  Central  and 
Southern  Europe,  from  Scheveningen  to  Lucerne  and  from 
Carlsbad  to  Venice.  The  liability  of  Jews  to  various  forms 
of  dyspepsia  and  rheumatism  causes  them  to  repair  in  hosts 
to  all  the  mineral  wells  to  drink  the  waters,  and  Carlsbad 
and  Marienbad  in  particular  present  the  aspect  of  an  annual 
reunion  of  the  scattered  sons  of  Israel.  The  promenades 
are  filled  with  a  kaleidoscopic  crowd  of  Jewish  types  talking 
in  a  dozen  tongues — well-fed  merchants  from  England, 
savants  with  slashed  cheeks  from  Germany  and  Austria, 
spruce  Reform  Rabbis  in  tourist  dress  from  America, 
orthodox  Rabbis  with  flowing  white  beards  and  solemn  mien 
from  Russia,  a  Chassidic  miracle-maker  in  silk  gaberdine 
and  fur  hat  from  Galicia,  stalwart,  black-bearded  Jews 
from  the  Caucasus  in  conical  astrakhan  hats,  and  olive- 
complexioned  Jews  from  the  Orient  in  fez  and  turban. 
Even  the  most  exacting  of  the  ultra-orthodox  suffer  no 
hardship  in  these  resorts  in  respect  of  diet  and  lodging,  for 
there  are  kosher  boarding-houses  and  restaurants  galore  to 
accommodate  them  all,  and  the  strict  routine  of  the  cure  is 
relieved  by  divine  service  three  times  a  day  and  Talmudic 
disputations  at  all  hours.  Drawn  together  from  their 
dispersion  by  their  bodily  ills,  the  children  of  Israel  discuss 
the  malady  of  their  people  while  seeking  their  own  personal 
healing,  and  then  return  to  their  thousand  tents. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

Anthropological  and  physiological  characteristics — The  Jewish 
type  predominantly  brunette  and  brachycephalic  —  Historical 
evidence  upon  racial  purity — Uniformity  of  Jewish  type — Causes  of 
physiological  characteristics — Factors  contributing  to  good  health  : 
Dietary  and  hygienic  laws — Temperance — Low  rate  of  mortality  in 
general  and  of  infants  in  particular — Causes  of  low  mortality — 
Liability  to  contagious  diseases,  bronchitis,  heart-disease,  hemor¬ 
rhoids,  cancer — Liability  to  consumption,  diseases  of  digestive 
organs,  of  the  eye  and  skin — Morbidity  of  children — Nervous 
diseases — Suicides — Inferiority  of  birth-rate — Decline  of  marriage- 
rate — Decline  of  natural  increase 

THE  Jew  has  many  distinguishing  characteristics 
both  of  an  anthropological  and  a  physiological 
nature.  Their  origin  is  to  be  sought  partly  in  the 
racial  stock  to  which  he  belongs,  partly  in  the  endless 
vicissitudes  through  which  he  has  passed,  partly  in  the 
environment  in  which  he  has  dwelt,  and  partly  in  the 
mode  of  life  that  he  has  followed.  His  anthropological 
characteristics  are  due  to  the  racial  factor,  and  they  owe 
their  preservation  in  approximately  their  original  condition 
to  the  social  isolation  in  which  he  has  for  the  most  part 
lived  since  the  days  of  his  dispersion.  His  physiological 
characteristics  are  due  in  greatest  measure  to  the  hygienic 
laws  which  he  has  observed  as  part  of  his  religion,  and 
likewise  to  the  sufferings  which  his  people  has  endured 
in  its  struggle  for  existence,  and  the  effects  of  which,  both 
beneficial  and  detrimental,  he  has  inherited  as  a  national 
legacy.  The  characteristics  of  both  kinds  will  be  found 
in  their  fullest  extent  among  the  Jews  who  live  in  compact 
settlements,  particularly  in  Eastern  Europe  and  in  the 

hi 


112 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Western  communities  composed  of  those  who  have  them¬ 
selves  migrated  from  the  East.  The  anthropological  traits 
have  a  longer  and  stronger  persistence  than  those  of  a 
purely  physiological  order  :  they  are  rooted  in  the  blood 
and  will  even  reassert  themselves  in  the  grandchildren  of 
those  who  have  married  outside  the  Jewish  pale  and  with¬ 
drawn  from  the  Jewish  community.  The  peculiarities  of 
a  physiological  nature  are  dependent  upon  more  governable 
factors,  and  they  become  weaker  or  disappear  in  pro¬ 
portion  as  the  individual  Jew  abandons  the  habits  and 
customs  of  centuries  and  adopts  the  mode  of  life  of  his 
non- Jewish  neighbours. 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  Jewish  type  consists  of 
dark  hair  and  eyes,  and  hence,  owing  to  the  preponderance 
of  this  feature,  the  Jews  belong  to  the  brunette  group  of 
the  human  race,  or,  more  particularly,  to  the  brunette 
group  (Melanochroes)  of  the  white  race.  The  blond  type, 
consisting  of  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes,  and  the  mixed  type 
consisting  of  fair  hair  with  dark  eyes  or  dark  hair  with 
light  eyes,  are  also  found  in  small  and  varying  proportions 
in  different  countries.  The  prevalence  of  this  blond  type 
has  been  explained  by  some  anthropologists  as  the  result 
of  intermixture  with  the  native  populations,  but  this  view 
is  contradicted  by  the  presence  of  fair-haired  Jews  in  the 
north  of  Africa  and  in  Syria,  which  are  not  inhabited  by 
blond  peoples,  as  well  as  by  the  presence  of  blond  types 
among  the  Samaritan  Jews  who  have  scrupulously  safe¬ 
guarded  their  racial  purity.  The  causes  of  these  diverse 
types  among  Jews  must  not  be  sought  in  their  kinship 
or  supposed  intermixture  with  alien  races,  but  in  the 
forces  of  nature  that  originally  determined  the  genesis  of 
these  respective  types  among  other  groups  of  the  human 
race.  The  differentiation  of  pigmentation,  as  Dr.  Zollschan 
has  shown,1  is  the  effect  of  varied  climatic  and  geographical 
conditions  :  it  is  a  protective  measure  of  nature  against 
the  injurious  chemical  and  calorific  effects  of  the  fierce  rays 
of  the  sun.  The  other  main  characteristic  of  the  Jewish 

1  Dr.  Ignaz  Zollschan,  Das  Rassenproblem  (Vienna,  3rd  edition,  1912), 
p.  123. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  113 


type  is  short-head edness  (brachycephaly),  the  cephalic 
index  of  the  majority  of  Jews  being  estimated  by  Dr.  Judt 
as  ranging  from  80  to  83 *6. 1  There  are,  however,  many 
representatives  of  the  long-headed  or  dolichocephalic  type, 
as  in  Arabia,  Morocco,  and  Algeria.  This  diversity  of 
head-form  is  advanced  by  Dr.  Fishberg  2  as  his  principal 
reason  for  disputing  the  racial  purity  of  the  Jews,  as  he 
maintains  that  changes  in  the  form  of  the  head  can  be 
produced  only  by  racial  intermixture.  But  Professor  Franz 
Boas,3  who  has  taken  measurements  of  30,000  immigrants 
and  descendants  in  New  York,  has  shown  that  the  change 
of  environment  from  Europe  to  America  has  a  potent 
influence  upon  such  racial  traits  as  stature,  head-form, 
and  complexion.  East-European  Jews  with  brachy- 
cephalic  heads  become  long-headed  and  also  increase  in 
stature  and  weight.  A  similar  phenomenon  may  also  be 
observed  among  the  immigrants  and  their  descendants  in 
London.  Moreover,  Nystrom  4  has  shown  that  the  shape 
of  the  skull  can  be  differently  influenced  by  the  pose  of 
the  body  involved  by  one’s  daily  occupation  and  mode  of 
life,  and  that  the  increased  pressure  of  brain  and  blood 
caused  by  intense  intellectual  activity  tends  to  produce 
brachycephaly.  Thus,  changes  of  head-form  afford  no 
proof  of  racial  intermixture.  It  had  long  been  supposed 
that  the  hook-nose  is  also  a  salient — if  not  the  most  dis¬ 
tinctive  feature — of  the  Jewish  type,  but  careful  observa¬ 
tion  among  the  Jews  of  Russia  and  Galicia  has  shown  that 
from  60  to  80  per  cent  possess  straight  or  “  Greek  ”  noses. 
The  Jewish  hook-nose  thrives  only  in  the  comic  papers. 
That  which  constitutes  the  peculiarity  of  the  Jewish  nose 
is  not  its  shape  or  profile,  but,  as  Joseph  Jacobs  was  the 
first  to  point  out,  “  the  accentuation  and  flexibility  of  the 
nostrils,”  a  view  with  which  Ripley  agrees.5 

1  Judische  Statistik  (Berlin,  1903),  p.  421. 

2  Dr.  M.  Fishberg,  The  Jews :  A  Study  of  Race  and  Environment 

(London,  1911). 

3  Changes  in  Bodily  Form  of  Descendants  of  Immigrants  (Washing¬ 
ton,  1910). 

4  Dr.  Ignaz  Zollschan,  Das  Rassenproblem,  p.  90. 

6  Art.  “  Nose,”  in  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  ix. 

8 


ii4  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

The  predominance  of  the  brachycephalic  type  among 
the  Jews  has  led  to  a  revision  of  the  traditional  view  as 
regards  their  Semitic  origin,  since  the  peoples  of  the  so- 
called  Semitic  stock  were  dolichocephalic.  Even  Jewish 
writers  who  are  in  favour  of  Jewish  nationalist  aspirations, 
such  as  Dr.  Zollschan  and  Dr.  Judt,  have  discarded  the 
conventional  theory  of  the  origin  of  their  people.  Dr. 
Zollschan  has  pointed  out  that  it  is  absurd  to  speak  of 
the  Semitic  race  at  all,  as  this  term,  like  the  collateral 
expression  Aryan,  simply  applies  to  a  family  group  of 
languages,  but  affords  no  indication  of  the  racial  kinship 
of  those  among  whom  they  are  spoken.  According  to 
Zollschan  the  Jews,  at  the  time  of  their  entry  upon  the 
arena  of  history,  were  the  product  of  an  amalgamation  of 
the  peoples  of  North  Africa  with  those  of  South-Western 
Asia,  and  they  were  particularly  influenced  by  the  Assyrian 
and  Babylonian  elements  among  the  latter  as  regards  their 
complexion.  Judt,  on  the  other  hand,  believes  that  the 
Hittites  formed  the  physical  nucleus  of  the  Jews,  who  owe 
to  them  their  distinctive  physiognomical  traits,  whilst 
according  to  Professor  von  Luschan  the  three  principal 
elements  in  the  composition  of  the  Jewish  type  were  the 
Semites,  the  Aryan  Amorites,  and  the  Hittites.  But 
although  it  is  impossible  to  establish  with  exactitude  the 
genesis  of  the  Jewish  type,  since  anthropological  science 
still  provides  a  field  of  heated  conflict,  it  is  sufficient  to 
know  that  according  to  unbiassed  authorities  the  racial 
amalgamation  of  which  the  J  ews  are  the  product  took  place 
some  four  thousand  years  ago  and  that  the  Jewish  type 
has  been  preserved  intact  to  the  present  day. 

The  evidence  of  history  strongly  supports  the  view  that 
the  Jewish  race  did  not  suffer  any  appreciable  influx  of 
alien  blood  in  Europe.  The  Jewish  community  in  almost 
every  town  was  both  locally  and  socially  segregated  from 
the  rest  of  the  population.  There  was  a  widespread  feeling 
of  hostility  between  Jews  and  Gentiles  throughout  the 
Middle  Ages,  which  afforded  little  encouragement  to  mixed 
marriages,  and  both  Synagogue  and  Church  strictly  forbade 
such  unions.  Moreover,  the  Rabbis  discouraged  pro- 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  115 


selytism,  and  the  records  of  conversion  show  that  the 
Jewish  community  lost  far  more  in  deserters  than  it  gained 
in  proselytes.  The  only  notable  exception  consisted  of 
the  Chazars,  a  people  of  Turkish  origin,  who  formed  an 
independent  kingdom  in  the  south  of  Russia  from  the 
seventh  to  the  eleventh  century,  and  whose  ruling  classes 
embraced  Judaism  in  620. 1  But  the  descendants  of  these 
Jewish  converts  were  subsequently  absorbed  among  the 
Karaites,  who  do  not  intermarry  with  orthodox  Jews,  and 
thus  they  cannot  form  an  argument  against  the  purity  of 
the  Jewish  race.  In  any  case  the  amount  of  the  inter¬ 
marriage  with  Jews  is  known  not  to  have  been  great,  and 
its  physical  effects  must  have  been  eliminated  in  the  course 
of  a  few  generations  as  small  admixtures  from  an  alien 
stock  leave  no  anthropological  trace  behind  them.  Mixed 
marriages,  so  far  as  has  been  ascertained,  are  less  fertile 
than  purely  Jewish  marriages,  owing  either  to  racial  incon¬ 
gruity  or  to  the  characteristics  of  the  social  stratum  in 
which  they  mostly  take  place,  and  all  but  a  tenth  of  the 
offspring  of  such  unions  go  over  to  Christianity.2  It  may 
therefore  be  safely  concluded  that  the  Jews  are  com¬ 
paratively  free  from  any  strain  of  alien  blood  derived  from 
the  nations  of  Europe,  whatever  admixture  they  may  have 
themselves  contributed  to  these  nations.  Beyond  the  zone 
of  the  Western  world,  however,  there  are  indeed  three 
historic  cases  of  alien  intermixture  with  Jewish  blood  :  the 
Jews  of  Abyssinia,  known  as  Falashas,  who  claim  descent 
from  the  retinue  of  Menelik,  the  son  of  King  Solomon  and 
the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  who  present  a  negroid  type  ;  the 
Black  Jews  of  India,  and  the  small  and  dwindling  colony 
of  Chinese  Jews  at  Kai-Fung-Foo.  But  these  abnormal 
types  are  comparatively  few  in  number,  and,  owing  to  their 
remoteness  and  isolation,  they  cannot  be  considered  as 
affecting  the  purity  of  the  general  body  of  the  Jewish  race. 

If  we  desire  a  concrete  and  impartial  testimony  that  the 
Jewish  type  has  not  undergone  any  appreciable  alteration 

1  According  to  A.  Harkavy,  Meassef  Niddahim,  i.  ;  other  authorities 
give  740  as  the  date  of  conversion. 

2  Cf.  bk.  vi.  chap,  iii.,  “  Drift  and  Apostasy.” 


n6  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

in  Europe  during  the  last  two  thousand  years,  we  shall  find 
it  in  the  imposing  monuments  that  have  been  brought  to 
light  from  the  buried  cities  of  Babylonia.  The  bas-reliefs 
of  Hebrew  prisoners  taken  by  Shishak  in  973  b.c.e.,  and  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Lachish  who  submitted  to  Sennacherib 
in  701  b.c.e. ,  present  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  pre¬ 
dominant  Jewish  type  of  the  present  day.  The  preservation 
of  this  type  from  so  remote  a  period  is  due  primarily  to 
racial  evolution  and  successive  centuries  of  inbreeding,  but 
it  is  not  less  due  to  common  national  experiences  which  have 
endowed  it  with  specific  qualities  of  a  physical  and  moral 
order.  Behind  the  walls  of  the  Ghetto  the  Jewish  type  was 
carefully  protected  from  the  influence  of  its  alien  environ¬ 
ment,  and  there  it  also  received  a  special  impress,  the  product 
of  exile  and  oppression.  The  chronic  outbreaks  of  massacre 
and  banishment,  the  unceasing  reign  of  petty  despotism, 
economic  misery  and  nervous  alarm,  have  wrought  traces 
upon  the  organism  of  the  Jew  ;  they  have  bent  and  stunted 
his  body,  whilst  they  have  sharpened  his  mind  and  brightened 
his  eye  ;  they  have  given  him  a  narrow  chest,  feeble  muscles, 
and  pale  complexion  ;  they  have  stamped  his  visage  with  a 
look  of  pensive  sadness,  as  though  ever  brooding  upon  the 
wrongs  of  ages.  But  the  frame  that  has  endured  and  sur¬ 
vived  so  much  suffering  is  also  endowed  with  a  high  degree 
of  resistance. 

In  the  remotest  regions  there  may  be  found  Jews  of  a 
similar  type,  as  in  Aden  and  Galicia,  in  Egypt  and  Persia,  in 
Samarcand  and  Palestine,1  and  yet  we  cannot  assert  that 
there  is  a  single  uniform  type  at  the  present  day.  A  few 
hours’  careful  observation  among  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of 
a  Western  city,  or  even  a  few  moments’  scrutiny  among  the 
delegates  at  a  Zionist  Congress,  would  soon  reveal  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  varied  types.  The  cause  of  this  variation  is  not 
far  to  seek  ;  it  consists  in  the  influence  of  local  environment, 
which  forces  upon  the  Jewish  physiognomy  some  of  the 
traits  of  the  predominant  type,  a  process  favoured  in 

1  W.  Z.  Ripley,  in  The  Races  of  Europe  (New  York,  1899),  has  published 
photographs  showing  the  similarity  between  Jewish  types  of  Russia, 
Caucasus,  Arabia,  Syria,  Tunis,  Bokhara,  and  India. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  117 


Western  countries  by  the  increase  of  social  intercourse  with 
non- Jews  as  well  as  by  the  preference  of  the  non- Jewish 
type  for  marriage  both  by  Jew  and  Jewess.  Thus  it  is  that 
several  eminent  Jews  of  the  last  fifty  years  have  had  little 
similarity  to  the  average  racial  type  ;  Cesare  Lombroso  in 
Italy,  Sir  Julian  Goldsmid  in  England,  George  Brandes  in 
Denmark,  Baron  Maurice  de  Hirsch  in  France,  have  all 
shown  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  characteristic  type  of 
their  native  country,  whilst  Dr.  Theodor  Herzl,  on  the  other 
hand,  recalled  the  majestic  presence  of  an  Assyrian  emperor. 
But  although  these  types  show  a  divergence  from  what  is 
popularly  called  the  Jewish  type,  there  is  no  ground  for 
denying  the  existence  of  the  latter  as  is  done  by  some  writers, 
since  the  majority  of  Jews  present — to  use  a  mathematical 
term — the  highest  common  factor  of  physical  and  physiog¬ 
nomical  characteristics  distinguishing  them  from  non- 
Jews.  The  truest  statement  of  the  position  would  be  that 
there  is  a  variety  of  Jewish  types,  each  possessing  an  un¬ 
mistakable  Jewish  factor  and  yet  presenting  a  certain 
resemblance  to  the  predominant  local  type  which  results 
from  the  unconscious  mimicry  of  muscular  movements. 
This  difference  has  been  characterized  as  a  difference  in  the 
social  type  of  Jewry,  which  helps  us  to  read  in  the  face  of 
each  Jew  the  land  of  his  origin,  and  to  see  whether  he  is  a 
native  of  Russia,  Germany,  England,  or  America.  That 
which  is  popularly  known  as  the  Jewish  expression  is  found 
mostly  among  those  who  live  in  or  originate  from  Eastern 
communities,  and  it  has  even  been  observed  to  develop  at  a 
later  age  in  the  case  of  some  who  have  not  had  it  in  their 
youth,  but,  on  the  whole,  it  diminishes  among  those  who 
have  constant  intercourse  with  non- Jews  and  who  live 
beyond  the  influence  of  a  Jewish  atmosphere. 

The  physiological  characteristics  of  the  Jew  are  not  due 
to  any  organic  peculiarities  of  a  racial  origin,  but  to  social, 
historic,  and  economic  causes.  Having  dwelt  for  nearly 
two  thousand  years  in  towns,  and  for  the  greater  period  in 
the  most  insalubrious  and  congested  quarters,  and  having 
been  compelled  to  endure  all  manner  of  persecution  in  his 
struggle  for  existence,  he  possesses  a  constitution  that  com- 


ii 8  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

bines  a  poor  muscular  development  with  a  highly  developed 
nervous  system.  His  average  height  in  Eastern  Europe  is 
five  feet  three  or  four  inches,  whilst  that  of  the  Jewish 
immigrants  in  the  United  States  is  five  feet  five  inches  1  ; 
but  the  native  Jews  both  of  New  York  and  London  are  taller 
than  their  foreign  parents  and  thus  demonstrate  how  sus¬ 
ceptible  is  the  physique  of  the  Jew  to  the  influence  of 
environment.  The  inferiority  of  the  Eastern  Jew  in  chest 
development  is  still  more  striking.  Among  healthy  and 
normally  developed  people  the  girth  of  the  chest  equals  or 
even  exceeds  half  the  stature,  but  this  proportion  is  far 
from  common  among  the  Jewish  masses  of  Russia,  who 
present  a  larger  percentage  of  military  recruits  with  deficient 
chest-measurement  than  any  other  subject -people  of  the 
Tsar.  Investigations  spread  over  twelve  years  (1886-97) 
have  shown  that  among  every  1000  Jewish  conscripts  there 
were  491  whose  chest-measurement  was  less  than  half  their 
height,  whilst  among  1000  Christian  conscripts  there  were 
only  128. 2  Dr.  Max  Mandelstamm,  of  Kiev,  who  had 
exceptional  facilities  for  studying  the  physical  conditions 
of  the  Jews  in  the  Russian  Pale,  cites  without  reservation 
the  testimony  of  military  physicians  that  60  per  cent  of 
the  Jewish  recruits  have  a  deficient  chest  circumference.3 
The  Russian  military  authorities  have  accordingly  lowered 
the  standard  of  their  requirements  for  Jewish  subjects. 

Despite  his  pallid  face  and  feeble  frame  the  Jew  displays 
a  remarkable  strength  in  resisting  disease.  Cooped  up  in  the 
poorest,  the  most  crowded  and  insanitary  districts  of  great 
cities,  where  the  air  is  foul  and  the  light  is  bad,  he  succeeds 
in  living  to  a  great  and  even  venerable  age.  Denied  the 
boon  of  invigorating  his  stock  with  the  blood  of  a  country- 
bred  element,  an  advantage  open  to  all  other  nations,  he 
nevertheless  succeeds  in  perpetuating  his  line  to  a  fourth 
and  fifth  generation.  The  secret  of  his  health  and  longevity 
lies  wholly  in  his  mode  of  life,  which  is  prescribed  and 

1  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America,  p.  282  (New  York,  1907). 

2  JiXdische  Statistik,  p.  306. 

3  Report  of  Physical  Condition  of  the  Jews,  Fourth  Zionist  Congress, 
London,  1900. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  119 


fashioned  by  law  and  custom.  But  some  of  his  immunity 
from  certain  diseases  may  rightly  be  referred  to  heredity, 
for  a  stock  that  has  survived  the  perils  and  persecutions  of 
many  ages  must  have  inevitably  become  stiffened  in  the 
process.  The  most  tangible  grounds  of  the  good  health  of 
the  Jew,  however,  consist  in  the  dietary  and  Itygienic  laws 
which  he  observes  as  faithfully  as  the  Ten  Commandments, 
in  his  notable  sobriety,  in  the  weekly  Sabbath  rest,  and  in 
the  quietude  and  purity  of  his  family  life.  The  legislation 
of  the  Bible  and  the  Talmud  was  directed  to  secure  the 
physical  as  well  as  the  spiritual  welfare  of  mankind,  and  all 
the  religious  codes  accepted  by  orthodox  Jewry  preserve  and 
emphasize  this  principle.  The  prohibition  of  certain  beasts, 
birds  and  fish,  as  unclean  for  food,  the  careful  examination 
of  animals  after  slaughter  to  see  that  they  are  free  from  any 
disease  of  the  lungs  or  pleura,  and  the  draining  of  the  blood 
from  meat  before  cooking,  combine  to  protect  the  body 
from  elements  that  might  be  injurious  and  diminish  the 
liability  to  contract  such  maladies  as  bovine  tuberculosis, 
trichiniasis,  and  typhoid  fever.  The  cleanliness  of  the 
person  is  secured  by  a  strict  insistence  upon  the  use  of  baths 
and  ablutions  as  almost  a  religious  duty.  The  hands  and 
face  must  be  washed  in  the  morning  before  any  food  is 
touched  ;  the  hands  must  always  be  washed  after  relieving 
nature  and  after  touching  any  part  of  the  body  that  is 
usually  covered,  and  they  must  likewise  be  washed  before 
every  meal.  The  Jew,  moreover,  laves  his  hands  again 
after  the  meal,  before  uttering  grace.  A  bath  is  prescribed 
before  Sabbaths  and  festivals,  and  the  Mikvah  or  ritual  bath 
(which  must  contain  at  least  120  gallons  of  water)  must  be 
visited  by  every  woman  at  least  once  a  month.1  The  ritual 
observance  of  these  practices  is  slowly  falling  into  desuetude 
in  Western  countries,  but  it  is  faithfully  upheld  in  Eastern 
communities.  The  cleanliness  of  the  home  is  secured  by 
the  scrubbing  and  cleaning  of  the  living  rooms  on  the  eve  of 
every  Sabbath  and  festival,  and  by  the  thorough  scouring 

1  In  Germany,  of  1400  Jewish  communities,  772  have  a  Mikvah.  In  Russia 
there  is  hardly  a  single  community  without  one  (Z.  /.  Dem.  ii.Stat.,  1912, 
p.  87).  In  Western  countries  it  is  being  replaced  by  the  domestic  bath. 


120 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  scraping  of  every  nook  and  cranny  in  the  house-walls, 
woodwork,  floors,  furniture,  on  the  eve  of  Passover,  the 
latter  process  being  more  thorough,  if  anything,  than  the 
usual  English  spring  cleaning. 

The  salutary  effect  of  these  dietary  and  hygienic  re¬ 
gulations  is  supplemented  by  moderation  in  alcoholic 
indulgence,  for  although  the  Jew  drinks  wine  for  the  cere¬ 
monial  of  sanctification  on  Sabbaths  and  feasts  and  takes 
spirits  on  all  festive  occasions,  he  knows  how  to  set  a  dis¬ 
creet  limit  to  his  appetite.  There  are  no  temperance  leagues 
in  Jewry,  and  yet  in  no  other  community  is  the  number  of 
drunkards  or  of  those  suffering  from  alcoholic  excess  so 
small  in  proportion.  The  perfect  repose  both  of  body  and 
mind  secured  by  the  Sabbath  and  by  the  more  important 
festivals,  which  amount  to  thirteen  days  in  the  year, 
affords  an  excellent  means  of  recuperation  from  toil  and 
worry,  for  these  religious  celebrations  are  free  from  those 
drinking  bouts  which  desecrate  what  should  be  the  solemn 
days  of  other  communities.  And  a  further  series  of  im¬ 
portant  factors  consist  in  the  early  age  of  marriage,  the 
sanctity  of  the  family  tie,  and  the  devotion  which  parents 
lavish  upon  the  upbringing  of  children.  Finally,  the  whole 
philosophy  of  the  Jew  is  coloured  by  the  view  that  life  is  a 
very  precious  thing,  and  that  everything  may  be  sacrificed 
to  its  preservation.  The  guiding  principle  of  the  Rabbis, 
based  on  the  dictum  of  the  Pentateuch  (Lev.  xviii.  5), 
was  that  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  Bible  were  given 
that  man  might  live  by  them  and  not  die  through  them.1 
Hence  they  declared  that  in  case  of  danger  to  life  one  might 
commit  any  transgression  except  idolatry,  murder,  and 
adultery  ; 2  and  the  relaxation  they  allowed  had  special 
application  to  the  Sabbath,  on  which  the  doctor  might 
heal  the  sick,  though  all  other  work  was  forbidden. 

In  the  light  of  this  hygienic  dispensation  it  is  not  sur¬ 
prising  that  the  Jews  everywhere  have  a  lower  rate  of  mor¬ 
tality  than  the  people  among  whom  they  live,  even  though 
they  generally  dwell  in  the  most  crowded  and  insanitary 
districts.  In  no  country  that  has  been  investigated  does  their 
1  Talmud,  Yoma,  85b.  2  Pesachim,  25a. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  121 

annual  mortality  exceed  20  per  1000.  Between  1876  and 
1910  their  mortality  in  Prussia,  Bavaria,  and  Hesse  declined 
from  17*8  to  13*8  per  1000,  and  in  1911  their  mortality  in 
Prussia  was  14*1,  whilst  that  of  the  Christian  population 
was  I7-4.1  In  Hungary  their  death-rate  in  1911  was  15*3, 
as  compared  with  25 *i  per  1000  of  the  general  population  ; 2 
and  in  Vienna,  in  1908,  it  was  only  12*4,  contrasting  with 
a  mortality  of  18*1  per  1000  of  the  general  population.3 
They  enjoy  the  same  advantage  in  Eastern  Europe  too. 
Thus,  in  1903,  in  Russia,  they  had  a  mortality  of  only 
14-5,  whilst  that  of  the  Orthodox  Russians  was  32*2,  and 
that  of  the  Mohammedans  24*3  per  1000  ;  and  in  Poland  they 
had  a  death-rate  of  15*8,  whilst  that  of  the  Catholics  was 
23d  Similarly,  the  average  death-rate  of  the  Jews  in 
Bulgaria  declined  between  1891-95  and  1901-04  from 
23*10  to  15*49  Per  whilst  that  of  the  general  popu¬ 

lation  only  declined  from  27*86  to  22*68  ; 5  and  in  Ru¬ 
mania  the  Jewish  death-rate  between  1907  and  1910  de¬ 
clined  from  18*94  to  16*85,  whilst  that  of  the  general  popu¬ 
lation  only  declined  from  26*4  to  25*38. 6  The  same 
phenomenon  has  been  corroborated  among  the  Jews  in 
London,  Manchester,  and  New  York.  In  Whitechapel, 
according  to  Dr.  J.  Loane,  who  gave  evidence  before  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Alien  Immigration  in  1902,  the 
death-rate  of  the  district  in  the  period  1880-1900,  when 
the  Jews  settled  there  in  large  numbers,  declined  from 
26  to  18  per  1000,  and  the  foreigners  have  a  death-rate  of 
156  as  against  the  native  rate  of  20  ; 7  in  Manchester 
during  the  years  1900-02,  the  death-rate  for  the  entire  city 
was  21*78,  whilst  in  the  Jewish  district  of  Cheetham  it  was 
only  16*99  ; 8  and  in  New  York  during  the  six  years  ending 
31st  May  1890,  the  Jews  had  a  mortality  of  only  14*85  per 
1000,  which  was  lower  than  that  of  any  other  rate  in  the 
city.9 

1  Zeitschri ft  filr  Demographie  und  Statistih  dev  Juden,  1913,  January 
and  September. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  118.  3  Ibid.,  1911,  p.  118.  4  Ibid.,  pp.  39-44. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  17.  6  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  16. 

7  Minutes  of  Evidence  (1903),  4538-55.  8  Ibid.,  p.  799. 

9  J.  S.  Billings,  Vital  Statistics  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States  (1890), 


122 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


The  favourable  position  of  the  Jews  in  regard  to  mortality 
in  general  is  exemplified  very  strikingly  by  the  rate  of  in¬ 
fantile  mortality,  which  everywhere  forms  a  good  proportion 
of  the  general  mortality.  Thus  according  to  the  evidence 
given  before  the  Royal  Commission  on  Alien  Immigration, 
the  infant  mortality  increased  in  London  in  the  period 
1886-1900  from  153  to  161  per  1000  births,  whilst  the 
Whitechapel  district  showed  a  decline  from  170  to  144  ; 
and  in  Manchester,  in  1898-1901,  the  infant  death-rate  was 
lowest  in  Cheetham,  the  figures  in  1899  being  104  for  this 
Jewish  district  and  205  for  the  whole  city.1  Similarly, 
investigations  have  proved  that  those  districts  which  are 
mostly  inhabited  by  Jews  in  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
Chicago,  and  Boston,  although  the  most  overcrowded  and 
insanitary,  have  the  lowest  rate  of  child  mortality.2  In 
the  Grand  Duchy  of  Hesse  the  average  rate  of  infant  mor¬ 
tality  in  1906-10  was  129  per  1000  of  the  Christian  popu¬ 
lation,  but  among  the  Jews  it  was  only  72  ;  3  and  in  Hun¬ 
gary,  in  1910,  the  mortality  of  Jewish  children  under  seven 
years  of  age  formed  35*8  per  cent  of  all  Jewish  deaths, 
whilst  among  the  Protestants  it  was  42*1,  and  among  the 
Catholics  49*7  per  cent.4  Moreover,  in  Russia,  according 
to  the  census  of  1897,  the  infant  mortality  was  150  per 
1000  births  among  the  Jews,  whilst  it  was  154*2  among 
the  Catholics,  and  274*3  among  the  Greek  Orthodox  ; 5  and 
in  Cracow,  which  is  typical  of  Galicia,  the  corresponding 
average  rate  for  1894-96  was  155  for  the  Jews,  but  171 
for  the  Christians.6 

The  low  death-rate  of  Jewish  children  is  due  to  the 
scrupulous  care  of  the  mothers  in  rearing  their  offspring. 
Throughout  Eastern  Europe  Jewesses  after  marriage  very 
rarely  work  in  factories  or  at  home  ;  they  invariably  nurse 
their  children  at  the  breast  ;  and  in  all  parts  of  the  world 
they  are  known  to  display  an  excessive  solicitude  about 

1  Minutes  of  Evidence,  3960,  21742-46. 

2  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America. 

3  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1913,  p.  7. 

4  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  78. 

6  Die  sozialen  V erhaltnissc  der  Juden  in  Russland,  p.  29. 

6  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  33. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  123 


the  health  of  their  children  and  to  seek  the  best  medical 
advice  on  the  least  suspicion  that  anything  is  wrong.  The 
low  rate  of  the  general  mortality  must  be  also  attributed 
partly,  in  addition  to  the  factors  previously  mentioned,  to 
the  nature  of  the  occupations  in  which  Jews  engage.  The 
large  majority,  particularly  in  Eastern  Europe,  are  mer¬ 
chants  or  small  traders  or  engage  in  indoor  occupations, 
and  thus  belong  to  the  long-lived  class.  Their  avoidance 
of  dangerous  trades,  such  as  mining,  building,  and  railway 
employment,  is  due  not  to  any  deliberate  precaution  but, 
for  the  most  part,  to  the  fact  that  such  occupations  would 
involve,  more  seriously  than  others,  regular  isolation  from 
the  Jewish  community  and  violation  of  the  Sabbath.  We 
are  thus  ledto  the  conclusion  that  the  low  mortality  of  Jewry 
is  due  in  the  mainto  its  specific  social,  hygienic,  and  economic 
conditions,  a  view  that  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  the 
death-rate  of  the  Jews  is  smallest  where  they  live  apart, 
whilst  it  increases  where  they  freely  intermingle  with  their 
non- Jewish  neighbours.1  But  apart  from  all  these  con¬ 
siderations  it  is  only  natural  that  the  Jews,  who  have  waged 
such  a  long  and  stubborn  fight  against  the  forces  of  destruc¬ 
tion,  should  have  acquired  a  certain  ingenuity  in  the  art 
of  defeating  Death. 

The  favourable  conditions  of  health  enjoyed  by  the 
Jews  may  be  illustrated  by  examining  the  degree  of  their 
liability  to  various  diseases.  Contagious  maladies,  which 
work  with  such  rapid  and  pernicious  effects  among  most 
peoples,  do  not  attack  them  at  all  so  seriously,  despite  the 
apparent  opportunities  offered  by  a  Ghetto  environment.2 
In  1909  there  was  an  outbreak  of  cholera  in  Vitebsk,  in 
the  Russian  Pale,  which  (according  to  the  census  of  1897) 
contains  34,420  Jews  and  31,299  non-Jews,  but  whilst 
472  non- Jews  were  attacked,  of  whom  219  died,  only  186 
Jews  were  attacked,  of  whom  70  died.  The  morbidity  of 

1  Among  American  Jews  the  death-rate  of  the  native-born  is  9*16  per 
cent,  but  that  of  the  foreign-born  7‘6i  per  cent  ( Jewish  Encyclopedia, 
vol.  ix.,  art.  “  Mortality  ”). 

2  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  Black  Death,  which  carried  away  so  many 
thousands  of  people,  left  the  Jews  almost  untouched,  and  hence  they  were 
accused  of  causing  the  death  of  others  by  poisoning  the  wells. 


124 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  Jews  was  thus  only  5,  and  that  of  their  neighbours 
15  per  1000. 1  The  Jews  are  also  more  immune  than  their 
neighbours  from  typhoid  fever.  Thus  in  Budapest,  in 
1886,  their  mortality  from  this  disease  was  only  46  per 
100,000,  whilst  that  of  the  Catholics  was  66,  and  of  the 
Lutherans  76. 2  And  in  New  York,  during  the  six  years 
ending  31st  May  1900,  their  mortality  from  typhoid  was 
only  9-19  per  100,000,  a  lower  rate  than  that  of  any  other 
people.  They  suffer  less  from  smallpox,  as  they  practise 
vaccination  regularly,  and  in  the  epidemic  of  1900-03  in 
New  York  they  were  almost  completely  immune,  as  they 
were  in  the  outbreak  in  Manchester  in  1902. 3  They  are 
less  liable  to  pneumonia  as  their  indoor  occupations  do  not 
expose  them  to  the  rigours  of  the  weather  or  the  chilling 
of  the  body  ;  and  as  they  are  not  habitual  drunkards  they 
can  offer  a  more  effective  resistance  to  the  disease.  On 
the  other  hand,  owing  to  their  being  mostly  townsfolk 
with  indoor  occupations,  they  are  very  liable  to  chronic 
bronchitis  and  asthma  ;  and  heart  disease  claims  a  great 
number  of  victims,  owing  partly  to  their  unusually  severe 
struggle  for  existence  and  partly  to  their  containing  a 
large  proportion  of  old  persons,  who  are  naturally  liable 
to  the  malady.  In  the  United  States  the  Jewish  mortality 
from  heart  disease  is  double  that  of  the  general  population. 
Rheumatism  is  also  common,  and  so  are  varicose  veins, 
especially  among  women,  owing  to  their  sedentary  habits 
and  their  frequent  pregnancy.  A  special  form  of  the 
latter  affection  consists  of  hemorrhoids,  which  are  more 
prevalent  among  Jews  than  among  other  people.  This 
malady  is  particularly  common  among  the  Jews  of  Eastern 
Europe  :  its  causation  is  due  to  a  sedentary  life,  and  is 
generally  attributed  to  sitting  nearly  the  whole  day  on 
the  hard  benches  of  the  Beth  Hamidrash,  studying  the 
Talmud.  Cancer  is  believed  to  be  less  frequent  among 

1  Zeitschrift  filr  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1912,  p.  63. 

2  J.  von  Korosi  in  Publikationen  des  Statistischen  Bureaus,  Budapest 
(Berlin,  189S). 

3  Minutes  of  Evidence,  Royal  Commission  on  Alien  Immigration, 
21,794. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  125 


Jews  than  among  non- Jews,  though  among  the  former  it 
is  more  liable  to  attack  the  gastro-intestinal  organs  ;  on 
the  other  hand,  cancer  of  the  breast  is  less  frequent 
among  Jewish  than  non- Jewish  women. 

Whether  Jews  show  any  particular  immunity  in  regard 
to  consumption  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute,  though  the 
bulk  of  the  evidence  would  seem  to  be  in  their  favour. 
Investigations  made  in  Russia,  New  South  Wales,  and 
London  show  that  the  Jews  are  less  liable  than  their 
neighbours  to  this  disease.  In  1897  the  Jewish  Board  of 
Guardians  of  London  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire 
into  the  alleged  increasing  prevalence  of  consumption 
among  the  Jewish  poor  with  a  view  to  adopting  preventive 
measures,  but  the  inquiry  established  the  fact  that  there 
had  not  been  any  increase  of  this  disease  during  the 
previous  fifteen  years.1  Dr.  J.  S.  Billings  has  shown  that 
the  death-rate  from  consumption  in  New  York  and  Brook¬ 
lyn  for  the  six  years  ending  31st  May  1900  was  lowest 
among  the  Jewish  population,  a  result  confirmed  by  Dr.  M. 
Fishberg,  who  has  made  investigations  in  the  New  York 
Ghetto,  showing  that  the  death-rate  from  this  disease 
was  565*06  per  100,000  among  non-Jews,  but  only  110*56 
among  Jews.2  The  pursuit  of  sedentary  occupations, 
such  as  tailoring  and  boot-making,  in  the  crowded  dwellings 
of  congested  districts  in  big  cities,  would  lead  one  to  expect 
a  greater  frequency  of  this  malady  among  Jews,  but  there 
are  counteracting  factors  in  the  careful  inspection  of  their 
meat,  the  rarity  of  alcoholism,  the  regular  cleaning  of  the 
house,  and  their  general  employment  in  trades  that  do  not 
expose  them  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  The 
eating  of  kosher  meat  and  the  moderate  indulgence  in 
intoxicants  would  seem  to  be  the  two  chief  causes  for 
checking  the  ravages  of  consumption.  On  the  other 
hand,  diseases  of  the  digestive  organs,  such  as  nervous 
dyspepsia  and  diabetes,  are  rather  frequent  causes  of 
death,  being  due  largely  to  excessive  anxiety  and  a  lack 
of  proper  exercise.  Whether  Jews  are  more  often  attacked 

1  British  Medical  Journal,  2nd  July,  1898. 

2  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America,  p.  329. 


126 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


by  diabetes  than  their  neighbours  is  another  moot  point, 
but  Dr.  Fishberg  has  shown  that  it  is  mostly  a  question 
of  the  nativity  of  the  Jews,  those  in  Germany  falling 
easier  victims  to  the  malady  than  their  co-religionists 
in  Russia,  France,  or  England.1  The  extent  to  which 
Jews  are  liable  to  diseases  of  the  digestive  organs  is 
evidenced  by  the  large  numbers  in  which  they  flock  every 
summer  to  such  watering-places  on  the  Continent  as 
Carlsbad  and  Marienbad.  Of  eye  diseases  trachoma  is 
rather  frequent  among  the  Jews  of  Eastern  Europe,  owing 
to  their  insanitary  surroundings,  but  effective  measures 
of  prevention  and  healing  have  been  adopted  in  recent 
years  in  consequence  of  this  ailment  being  a  ground  for 
the  exclusion  of  immigrants  seeking  to  enter  England  or 
America.  Of  skin  diseases  eczema  is  said  to  be  more 
common  among  Jews  than  among  non- Jews,  a  phenomenon 
also  due  to  an  insanitary  environment.  Sexual  diseases 
are  notably  less  common,  the  comparative  immunity 
being  due  partly  to  superiority  in  moral  relations,  partly 
to  moderation  in  intoxicants,  and  partly  to  circumcision  ; 
but  the  favourable  position  of  the  Jew  in  this  respect  is 
slowly  receding  in  Western  countries  in  which  there  is 
increasing  intercourse  with  the  non- Jewish  population. 

The  position  of  the  Jewish  child  in  regard  to  disease, 
as  can  be  deduced  from  its  comparatively  low  death-rate, 
is  strikingly  favourable  and  is  due  to  the  greater  devotion 
and  care  exercised  by  the  mother  both  before  and  after 
birth.  Jewish  children  succumb  less  frequently  than 
others  to  diphtheria,  croup,  measles,  and  whooping-cough, 
but  they  more  often  die  from  scarlet  fever.  They  show  a 
better  resistance  to  infantile  diarrhoea,  the  mortality  from 
which  is  only  about  a  third  of  that  among  non- Jewish 
infants.  They  are  also  less  liable  to  rickets,  atrophy, 
and  scrofula.  Striking  evidence  on  this  point  was  given 
before  the  Inter-Departmental  Committee  on  Physical 
Deterioration  by  Dr.  W.  Hall  of  Leeds,  who  found  50  per 
cent  of  the  Christian  children  in  a  poor  school  suffering 
from  rickets,  but  only  8  per  cent  of  the  children  in  a  school 
1  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  iv„  art.  “  Diabetes/’ 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  127 


of  the  better  class,  whereas  in  a  Jewish  school  of  poor 
children  he  found  only  7  per  cent  attacked  by  this  ailment.1 

The  liability  of  the  Jews  to  nervous  diseases  is  a  subject 
of  peculiar  and  pathetic  interest.  Distinguished  by  the 
superiority  of  their  nervous  over  their  muscular  system,  they 
are  more  prone  to  mental  affections  than  other  people  in 
whom  the  nervous  system  is  relatively  less  highly  developed. 
According  to  various  authorities  the  frequency  of  mental 
diseases  among  Jews  is  four  to  five  times  higher  than  among 
non- Jews.  It  is  chiefly  nervous  diseases  of  a  functional 
order,  however,  to  which  they  are  subject,  particularly 
neurasthenia  and  hysteria,  the  latter  being  found  among 
males  to  a  notable  degree.  Raymond  has  actually  asserted 
that  the  Jewish  population  of  Warsaw  forms  an  inexhaustible 
source  of  supply  of  hysterical  males  for  the  clinics  of  the 
whole  Continent.2  On  the  other  hand,  Jews  are  less  liable 
to  organic  nervous  diseases  than  non- Jews,  thanks  to  the 
comparative  infrequency  among  them  of  alcoholism  and 
syphilis.  Their  peculiar  position  in  respect  to  these  dis¬ 
orders  is  due  to  a  combination  of  historic  and  social  factors. 
They  have  had  to  endure  an  endless  cycle  of  persecutions 
ever  since  their  exile  from  Palestine  ;  they  have  been 
almost  exclusively  denizens  of  towns  throughout  that 
period,  denied  the  stimulating  influx  of  country  blood  ; 
and  they  have  largely  been  engaged  in  intellectual  or  com¬ 
mercial  pursuits  and  been  exposed  to  the  worry  and  anxiety 
incidental  thereto.  These  factors,  operating  for  so  long 
a  period  and  over  so  wide  an  area,  have  rendered  the 
Jewish  nervous  system  peculiarly  susceptible  of  attack, 
and  they  continue  to  exert  undiminished  sway  to  the 
present  day  throughout  Eastern  Europe.  The  persistent 
espionage  and  oppression,  the  chronic  pogroms  and  the 
daily  fear  of  their  recurrence,  to  which  the  Jews  in  Russia 
are  exposed  have  wrought  disastrous  effects  among  them — 
driving  hundreds,  nay  thousands,  into  an  incurable  state 
of  insanity.  According  to  the  Russian  census  of  1897 

1  Jewish  Chronicle,  19th  August,  1904. 

2  L’ Etude  des  Maladies  du  Systbme  Nerveux  en  Russie,  p.  71  (Paris, 
1889). 


128 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  Jews  had  g'84  mentally  diseased  in  every  10,000,  whilst 
the  Russians  had  only  9*54  and  the  Poles  8*51. 1  This  un¬ 
favourable  proportion  has  probably  since  become  worse 
in  consequence  of  the  wholesale  massacres  of  Jews  in  the 
autumn  of  1905  and  the  sporadic  outrages  that  broke  out 
in  the  following  year,  the  type  of  affection  to  which  they 
are  subject  being  more  frequently  melancholia  rather  than 
mania.  In  addition  to  these  factors  one  must  also  take 
into  consideration  the  early  age  at  which  the  Jewish  child 
begins  his  education  ;  his  religious,  if  not  his  secular 
education,  begins  as  early  as  the  age  of  four  or  five,  and 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Eastern  Europe  it  is  con¬ 
ducted  mostly  in  an  overcrowded  and  ill-ventilated  room 
which  often  forms  the  entire  home  of  the  teacher.  An 
important  point  that  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
in  regard  to  the  comparative  frequency  of  insanity  among 
Jews  is  that  they  are  almost  exclusively  an  urban  population, 
whilst  almost  half  of  the  non- Jewish  world  lives  in  the 
country  :  thus  a  J ewish  lunatic  must  invariably  be  brought 
into  a  public  asylum,  a  necessity  that  operates  to  a  less 
degree  in  the  case  of  Gentile  lunatics,  and  hence  the 
disproportion  between  recorded  Jewish  and  non- Jewish 
lunatics  can  to  a  certain  extent  be  discounted.  Despite  the 
relatively  high  degree,  however,  in  which  J  ews  are  attacked 
by  nervous  ailments,  they  are  comparatively  free  from 
the  severer  or  fatal  forms  of  these  diseases.  Thus  the 
mortality  of  the  Russian  Jews  in  New  York  from  nervous 
maladies  in  the  six  years  ending  31st  May  1890  was  ii7’68 
per  100, 000, 2  whilst  that  of  the  Bohemians  was  33676,  of 
the  white  Americans  293 ’48,  and  of  the  Irish  242 '44. 

Although  insanity  is  the  most  potent  predisposing  cause 
of  suicide,  self-destruction  is  on  the  whole  comparatively 
rare  among  the  Jews.  The  reason  is  to  be  sought  in  the 
controlling  influence  of  religion,  which  is  a  recognized 
deterrent  of  self-murder,  as  well  as  in  the  traditional  view 
of  the  Jew  in  looking  upon  life  as  something  sacred. 
Throughout  the  crowded  Jewish  centres  in  Eastern  Europe, 

1  Die  sozialen  Verhdltnisse  dev  Juden  in  Russland,  p.  G8  (Berlin,  1906). 

2  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America,  p.  299. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  129 


where  orthodoxy  has  its  stronghold,  suicide  is  a  very 
infrequent  phenomenon  :  only  in  periods  of  pogroms, 
when  Jewish  wives  are  dishonoured  and  Jewish  girls  are 
outraged,  is  there  a  notable  manifestation  of  suicidal 
tendency.  The  cause  is  certainly  sufficient.  There  is  an 
appreciable  difference,  however,  in  the  rate  of  suicide 
among  different  grades  of  Jewish  society,  its  incidence 
being  much  more  frequent  among  the  rich  than  among  the 
poor.  Thus,  in  Austria,  where  the  economic  position  of 
the  Jews  is  low,  the  number  of  suicides  is  20  per  100,000 ; 
and  in  Galicia,  where  the  Jews  are  even  worse  off,  it  is 
10  per  100,000 ;  whilst  in  Baden  and  Bavaria,  where  they 
are  on  the  whole  in  comfortable  circumstances,  the  rate  is 
is  140. 1  The  most  significant  feature  in  regard  to  self- 
murder  among  the  Jews  is  its  comparative  increase  in 
Western  Europe  and  America,  thus  displaying  one  of 
the  deleterious  influences  of  modern  civilization  upon 
Jewish  life.  In  these  Western  lands,  where  the  struggle 
of  life  is  keener  and  the  bases  of  faith  are  weaker,  the 
despair  of  the  Jew  finds  a  quicker  outlet  in  self-destruc¬ 
tion  than  in  the  Jewish  centres  of  Eastern  Europe,  where 
there  is  not  only  a  stronger  faith  in  Providence,  but  where 
also  the  social  stigma  attaching  to  the  family  of  a  suicide 
acts  as  a  potent  deterrent.  The  increase  in  the  rate  of 
suicide  in  Western  Jewry  has  become  most  striking  during 
the  last  fifty  years,  the  period  that  has  witnessed  the 
growth  of  emancipation  and  westward  migration  ;  and  it 
is  particularly  noteworthy  in  Prussia,  where  the  statistics 
of  the  ten  years  1890-1901  show  that  whilst  the  rate 
among  the  non- Jewish  population  of  that  country  has  re¬ 
mained  almost  stationary,  it  has  increased  among  the  Jews 
from  18  to  32  per  100,000. 

Although  modern  Jewry  has  such  a  favourable  record 
in  regard  to  mortality  and  disease,  it  has  a  remarkably 
diminishing  birth-rate,  which  is  lower  than  the  birth-rate 
of  the  general  population  in  all  the  countries  of  Europe. 
Thus,  in  Prussia,  Bavaria,  and  Hesse  together  the  average 
Jewish  birth-rate  sank  from  31*6  per  1000  in  1876-80  to 

1  Jewish  Encyclopcedia,  vol.  xi.,  art.  “  Suicide.” 


9 


130 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


17*6  in  igoi-io,  and  in  Prussia  alone,  in  1911,  it  was  as 
low  as  15  *4. 1  This  contrasts  very  unfavourably  not  only 
with  the  Christian  birth-rate  in  Prussia,  29*7  per  1000,  and 
with  the  general  birth-rate  for  Germany,  287,  but  also 
with  that  of  France  in  1911,  18 '9,  which  is  commonly  re¬ 
garded  as  the  lowest  birth-rate  in  Europe.  In  Austria  the 
Jewish  birth-rate  declined  between  1899  and  1909  from 
3572  to  28*80  per  1000,  and  in  Hungary  between  1901-05 
and  1906-10  from  31*4  to  28*6,  falling  again  in  1911  to 
26*9  (compared  with  35*1  per  1000  of  the  general  popula¬ 
tion).2  Even  in  the  countries  farther  east,  where  traditional 
piety  still  has  its  stronghold,  the  ancient  ideal  of  being 
fruitful  and  multiplying  is  steadily  waning.  Thus,  in 
Galicia  the  Jewish  births  between  1899  and  1909  declined 
from  41*41  to  34*40  per  1000  (probably  partly  due  to  the 
large  emigration)  ;  and  in  Rumania,  between  1903  and 
1910,  they  declined  from  32*29  to  29*33,  whilst  the  birth¬ 
rate  of  the  general  population  increased  from  40*14  to 
50*11  3;  and  in  Bulgaria,  between  1891-95  and  1907,  they 
declined  from  37*58  to  32*27,  whilst  the  birth-rate  of  the 
general  population  rose  from  37*49  to  43*85. 4  The  same 
phenomenon  has  also  manifested  itself  in  Russia,  where 
between  1900  and  1903  the  Jewish  birth-rate  declined  from 
36*14  to  29*13,  which  contrasts  strikingly  with  the  birth¬ 
rate  of  the  Greek  Orthodox,  51*3  per  1000  ; 5  and  in  Poland 
likewise  the  Jews  have  the  lowest  birth-rate  of  any 
denomination,  30,  that  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  being 
43*26  per  1000. 

This  diminution  of  the  birth-rate  has  altered  the  com¬ 
position  of  the  Jewish  family,  for  whilst  most  families  con¬ 
tained  four  to  six  children  even  as  recently  as  twenty  years 
ago,  they  now  have  only  two  to  four,  and  there  is  an 
increasing  tendency  to  restrict  the  number  to  two.  The 
cause  of  this  diminution  is  mainly  to  be  found  in  the  increase 
of  celibacy  and  the  postponement  of  marriage,  with  the 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1913,  January 
and  September. 

2  Ibid.,  1912,  pp.  78  and  135  ;  1913,  p.  118. 

3  Ibid.,  1911,  p.  17.  4  Ibid.,  1911,  pp.  39-44. 


6  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  16. 


RACIAL  AND  PHYSICAL  CHARACTERISTICS  131 


consequent  curtailment  of  the  period  of  fertility,  due  to 
the  increased  standard  of  comfort  and  education  ;  whilst  a 
subsidiary  cause  consists  in  the  prudential  restraints  and 
the  sterilizing  effect  of  nervous  irritability  prevalent  among 
educated  classes.  These  causes  operate,  it  is  true,  amongst 
nearly  all  town-dwellers,  Jewish  or  Gentile  ;  but  the  Jews 
are  almost  exclusively  a  town-people,  whereas  the  Christians 
are  to  a  large  extent  a  rural  folk  whose  high  birth-rate 
counter-balances  the  low  birth-rate  of  the  town  population. 
To  such  a  degree  has  celibacy  now  spread  in  modern  Jewry 
that  its  marriage-rate  has  sunk  below  that  of  the  Christian 
population  almost  throughout  Europe.  In  Germany,  in 
1911,  the  marriage-rate  of  the  general  population  was  7-80 
per  1000,  but  that  of  the  Jews  was  only  7-08  ;  and  in  Hun¬ 
gary,  in  the  same  years,  the  figures  were  respectively  9-2 
and  8-3  per  1000.1  The  same  phenomenon  has  also  mani¬ 
fested  itself  farther  east.  Thus,  in  Bulgaria,  in  1907,  the 
marriage-rate  of  the  general  population  was  9-88  per  1000, 
but  that  of  the  Jews  only  7-13  2 ;  and  in  Rumania,  in  1910, 
the  figures  were  respectively  9^44  and  6-09  per  1000. 3  In 
Russia  too  the  traditional  ideal  of  founding  a  family  is  on 
the  wane  ;  thus  in  1903,  whilst  the  marriage-rate  of  the 
Mohammedans  was  11-4  per  1000  and  that  of  the  Greek 
Orthodox  9*2,  that  of  the  Jews  was  only  7-2,  and  in  Poland 
it  was  as  low  as  6*i.4 

The  diminishing  birth-rate  of  the  Jews  is  partly  counter¬ 
balanced  by  their  low  rate  of  mortality,  but  the  advantage 
that  they  possess  in  this  respect  is  limited  in  effect,  and  the 
net  result  is  a  lower  rate  of  natural  increase  than  that  of  the 
general  population.  Thus,  in  Germany,  in  1905-10,  the 
general  population  increased  by  7-06  per  cent  (the  Protest¬ 
ants  by  6*23  and  the  Catholics  by  7-74  per  cent),  whilst  the 
Jews  increased  only  by  1*17  per  cent.5  In  Holland,  in 
1899-1909,  the  general  population  increased  by  147 7  per 
cent,  but  the  Jews  only  by  1*12  per  cent.6  Similarly,  in 
Austria  (1901-10)  the  addition  to  the  general  population 

1  Zeitschvift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1913,  p.  119. 

2  Ibid.,  1911,  p.  17.  3  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  16.  4  Ibid.,  1911,  pp.  39-44. 

6  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  160.  6  Ibid.,  1911,  p.  166. 


132 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


was  9-26  per  1000,  whilst  the  Jewish  increase  was  only  7*25, 
and  in  Galicia,  in  the  same  decade,  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Catholics  increased  by  8-67  and  11-64  Per  cent,  whilst  the 
Jewish  increase  was  only  7-62  per  cent  ;  in  Rumania 
(1910)  the  figures  were  14-82  and  12*13  respectively  ;  and 
in  Russia  (1903)  the  addition  to  the  Greek  Orthodox  popu¬ 
lation  was  19  per  1000,  whilst  that  of  the  Jewish  population 
was  only  14*8  per  1000.  The  effect  of  this  diminishing  rate 
of  increase  is  that  the  Jews  form  a  diminishing  proportion 
of  the  general  population  in  many  European  countries  where 
there  is  no  powerful  stream  of  immigration.  In  Germany, 
in  1870,  there  were  125  Jews  in  every  10,000  of  the  popu¬ 
lation,  but  in  1910  there  were  only  95.  This  diminution 
was  also  partly  due  to  apostasy  and  emigration,  and 
it  would  even  have  assumed  larger  proportions  but  for 
the  influx  of  Jews  from  Eastern  Europe.  Similarly, 
in  Austria,  in  1890,  there  were  478  Jews  in  every 
10,000  of  the  population,  but  in  1910  the  proportion 
had  fallen  to  459  1 ;  and  in  Italy,  between  1861  and  1901 
the  proportion  fell  from  13-31  to  10-96  per  10,000  of  the 
total  population.2  The  declining  rate  of  increase  of  the 
Jews  is  in  itself  an  ominous  sign  for  the  future  ;  whilst  the 
diminishing  proportion  which  they  form  of  the  general 
population  in  so  many  countries  is  a  further  disquieting 
factor,  as  it  exposes  them  in  a  steadily  increasing  measure 
to  the  forces  of  assimilation. 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  October  1912. 

i  Ibid,.,  January  1905. 


BOOK  III 

THE  POLITICAL  ASPECT 


INTRODUCTION 

The  diversity  of  political  status  and  its  consequences 

LESS  than  one-lialf  of  the  Jews  in  the  world  are  in 
possession  of  the  same  civil  rights  as  their  non- Jewish 
neighbours  ;  the  majority  are  still  in  bondage.  This 
simple  statement  sums  up  the  political  status  of  modern 
Jewry  and  illustrates  the  ethical  justice  of  modern  Christen¬ 
dom.  “  Peace  and  goodwill  unto  all  ”  was  the  gladsome 
message  of  the  Saviour  that  Christendom  owes  to  Jewry, 
but  war  and  ill-will  were  the  sinister  policy  practised  by 
the  nations  against  the  Jews  for  eighteen  centuries 
thereafter.  The  relentless  foe  of  the  Jews  through¬ 
out  the  Middle  Ages  was  the  Church,  which  dominated  the 
destinies  of  the  State  in  almost  every  country  in  which  they 
were  settled,  and  which  regarded  all  who  stood  outside  her 
fold  as  the  fit  prey  of  humiliating  restrictions  and  ruinous 
taxation.  They  owed  their  first  breath  of  liberty  in 
Europe,  not  to  any  clemency  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  but  to 
a  movement  which  swept  her  power  away  and  set  up  in  her 
place  the  goddess  of  Reason.  It  was  the  French  Revolution 
which  first  released  the  people  of  Israel  from  the  shackles  of 
medisevalism  and  endowed  them  with  the  rights  of  human 
beings,  though  this  act  of  liberalism  was  even  anticipated 
by  the  United  States  by  a  few  years.  The  step  was  too  bold 
and  revolutionary  to  be  followed  immediately  by  other 
countries  :  most  of  them,  after  protracted  internal  struggles, 

did  not  admit  their  Jewish  subjects  to  the  rights  of  citizen- 

133 


134 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


ship  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  order  in 
which  they  effected  this  measure  reflecting  the  march  of  the 
idea  of  toleration.  But  although  we  are  now  in  the  second 
decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  the  principle  of  toleration, 
acclaimed  as  the  crowning  virtue  of  modern  civilization, 
has  not  yet  penetrated  through  the  frontiers  of  Russia  and 
Rumania.  Six  million  human  beings  are  there  condemned 
to  a  state  of  servitude  to  which  the  annals  of  history  offer 
no  parallel,  their  only  crime  being  that  they  were  born  Jews. 
Their  sole  escape  from  the  mediaeval  barbarity  of  their 
modern  oppressors  is  in  emigration,  and  to  this  one  hundred 
thousand  are  compelled  to  resort  every  year.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  ceaseless  persecution  in  Russia  and  Rumania 
the  Jewish  communities  in  England,  America,  and  the 
British  Colonies  would  still  have  been  insignificant  in 
numbers,  for  the  Jew  loves  his  native  land  and  does  not 
leave  it  to  seek  a  home  elsewhere  unless  he  is  driven  by 
necessity.  The  fears  and  suspicions  formerly  entertained 
by  the  countries  that  have  emancipated  their  Jewish  sub¬ 
jects  have  long  been  dispelled,  for  the  latter  have  universally 
proved  a  benefit  to  the  State  and  manifested  their  patriotism 
in  abundant  measure :  they  have  contributed  to  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  their  country’s  welfare  in  the  arts  of  peace,  they 
have  fought  its  battles  (repeatedly  arrayed  against  one 
another),  they  have  actively  participated  in  its  civic  and 
political  life,  and  they  have  risen  to  positions  of  eminence 
in  its  Government  councils.  But  although  they  are  legally 
endowed  with  civil  and  political  rights  their  enjoyment  of 
them  in  some  countries  is  restricted  by  official  hostility  or 
embittered  by  social  prejudice.  The  complete  emanci¬ 
pation  of  the  Jewish  people  is  an  ideal  still  hidden  beyond 
the  range  of  prophetic  vision. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CIVIL  RIGHTS 

Mediaeval  disabilities — The  liberating  effects  of  the  French 
Revolution — Napoleon  and  the  Paris  Sanhedrin — Emancipation 
in  Italy  and  in  Holland — Protracted  struggle  in  Germany — Austria- 
Hungary — The  struggle  in  England — The  United  States  and 
British  Colonies — Other  Countries 


,HE  first  serious  attempt  to  liberate  the  Jews 
from  the  civil  and  political  disabilities  imposed 
upon  them  in  the  greater  part  of  mediaeval  Europe 
began  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Their 
disabilities  varied  in  different  countries  in  kind  and 
severity,  but  they  all  agreed  in  so  far  as  the  Jews  were 
denied  the  ordinary  rights  of  citizenship.  They  were 
restricted  in  domicile,  in  trade,  and  in  the  practice  of 
public  worship  ;  they  could  not  own  land  ;  they  were 
excluded  from  schools  and  universities  and  denied  any 
share  in  civil  and  political  affairs  ;  they  were  subjected 
to  a  poll-tax  which  was  exacted  whenever  they  passed 
from  one  province  into  another,  and  they  were  mulcted 
in  taxes  by  kings  and  bishops,  in  return  for  a  protection 
which  was  constantly  threatened  by  the  populace.  In 
short,  they  had  no  right  except  the  right  to  exist,  and 
this  was  exposed  to  so  many  wrongs  that  it  was  felt  as  a 
burden  itself.  Their  disabilities  in  England  were  not  so 
galling  or  burdensome  as  on  the  Continent,  for  here  they 
enjoyed  liberty  of  domicile  from  their  resettlement  in 
1655  and  were  free  from  the  humiliation  of  a  poll-tax  ; 
but  the  spirit  of  toleration  in  England  a  hundred  and 
sixty  years  ago  was  still  in  such  a  primitive  condition 
that  an  Act  for  the  naturalization  of  the  Jews  passed  in 


135 


136  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


1753  had  to  be  repealed  the  same  year  owing  to  a  fierce 
storm  of  protest  all  over  the  kingdom. 

The  first  country  in  which  the  Jews  in  Europe  were 
granted  complete  civil  equality  was  France.  As  early 
as  1748  Montesquieu  had  raised  his  voice  on  behalf  of 
the  Marannos  or  “  secret  Jews  ”  in  Portugal,  and  it  was  in 
his  country  that  the  seed  of  toleration,  assiduously  sown 
by  the  philosophers  of  reason,  first  ripened  into  fruit. 
The  initial  stage  in  the  process  of  liberation  was  the 
removal  of  the  commercial  disabilities  to  which  the  Jews 
of  Alsace  were  exposed  in  addition  to  the  burdens  of 
tribute  that  pressed  heavily  upon  all  the  Jews  of  France 
alike.  Confined  to  particular  districts  and  restricted  in 
the  matter  of  trade  to  dealing  in  cattle  and  jewellery,  the 
Jews  of  Alsace  were  compelled  to  engage  in  money-lending, 
and  the  unwillingness  or  inability  of  the  Christian  borrowers 
to  repay  their  loans  provoked  a  popular  agitation  against 
the  Jews.  Hence  the  latter,  in  1780,  presented  a  petition 
to  Louis  XVI  for  the  removal  of  their  trade  disabilities, 
which  was  granted  ;  and  four  years  later  a  decree  was 
issued  for  the  abolition  of  the  poll-tax  and  the  conferment 
of  free  choice  of  domicile.  But  it  was  not  until  1789  that 
freedom  of  religious  worship  was  accorded  by  the  National 
Assembly  in  response  to  the  powerful  advocacy  of  Mirabeau 
and  Abbe  Gregoire,  who  pleaded  for  the  extension  of  the 
Rights  of  Man  to  the  Jew.  Within  the  last  two  weeks 
of  that  memorable  year  the  question  arose  of  admitting 
all  citizens,  without  distinction  of  creed,  to  the  public 
service.  Again  Mirabeau  and  Gregoire  championed  the 
cause  of  the  Jews,  but  as  the  Alsatian  deputies  offered 
violent  opposition  a  compromise  was  agreed  upon.  The 
Portuguese  Jews  of  Avignon,  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed 
civil  rights  as  naturalized  Frenchmen,  and  against  whom 
there  was  no  hostility,  were  endowed  with  full  political 
rights  on  28th  January  1790.  Their  brethren  in  Alsace 
had  to  content  themselves  for  a  while  with  a  law  assuring 
them  protection  and  the  abolition  of  all  special  taxes  ; 
but  on  27th  September  1791,  after  an  ardent  appeal  by 
Talleyrand,  only  a  few  days  before  dissolution  of  the 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CIVIL  RIGHTS  137 


National  Assembly,  the  complete  rights  of  citizenship 
were  conferred  upon  the  60,000  Jews  of  France,  who  were 
thus  the  first  Jews  in  Europe  to  be  placed  on  a  political 
equality  with  their  neighbours. 

The  emancipation  of  the  Jews  of  France  was  confirmed 
by  Napoleon,  who  also  brought  the  first  taste  of  liberty 
to  their  brethren  in  Germany  and  Italy.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  moment  in  Napoleon’s  Egyptian  campaign 
when  he  was  fired  by  the  ambition  of  restoring  Palestine 
to  its  ancient  owners,  but  this  glorious  prospect  was  made 
dependent  upon  the  Jews  of  Africa  and  Asia  enrolling 
themselves  under  his  banner,  and  is  to-day  merely  a 
theme  for  historic  speculation.  The  Jewish  question  in 
France  was  re-opened  by  the  guild  merchants  and  religious 
reactionaries  of  Alsace,  who  exploited  the  inability  of 
the  peasants  of  this  province  to  repay  their  debts  to  the 
Jews  by  petitioning  Napoleon  to  abrogate  the  civil  rights 
of  the  Jews.  The  conqueror  resolved  to  submit  the 
question  to  the  consideration  of  the  Jews  themselves. 
He  convened  an  Assembly  of  Jewish  Notables  of  France, 
Germany,  and  Italy,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  the 
principles  of  Judaism  were  compatible  with  the  require¬ 
ments  of  citizenship,  as  he  wished  to  fuse  the  Jewish 
element  with  the  dominant  population.  The  Assembly, 
consisting  of  m  deputies,  met  in  the  Town  Hall  of  Paris 
on  25th  July  1806,  and  was  required  to  frame  replies  to 
twelve  questions  relating  mainly  to  the  possibility  of 
Jewish  patriotism,  the  permissibility  of  intermarriage 
between  Jew  and  non- Jew,  and  the  legality  of  usury. 
So  pleased  was  Napoleon  with  the  pronouncements  of 
the  Assembly  that  he  summoned  a  Sanhedrin  after  the 
model  of  the  ancient  council  of  Jerusalem  to  convert 
them  into  the  decrees  of  a  legislative  body.  The  San¬ 
hedrin,  comprising  71  deputies  from  France,  Germany, 
Holland,  and  Italy,  met  under  the  presidency  of  Rabbi 
Sinzheim,  of  Strassburg,  on  9th  February  1807,  and  adopted 
a  sort  of  charter  which  exhorted  the  Jews  to  look  upon 
France  as  their  fatherland,  to  regard  its  citizens  as  their 
brethren,  and  to  speak  its  language,  and  which  also  ex- 


138  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


pressed  toleration  of  marriages  between  Jews  and  Chris¬ 
tians  while  declaring  that  they  could  not  be  sanctioned 
by  the  synagogue.  In  order  to  give  legal  effect  to  the 
decision  of  the  Sanhedrin,  Napoleon  by  special  decree 
(17th  March  1808)  instituted  a  system  of  consistories  for 
regulating  the  constitution  of  the  Jewish  community. 
This  system  remained  in  force  in  France  until  the  passing 
of  the  Separation  Law  in  1905,  and  still  survives  in  Belgium 
and  Alsace.  The  culmination  of  Jewish  emancipation  in 
France  was  reached  in  1831,  when  it  was  resolved  that 
synagogues  and  Rabbis,  like  churches  and  priests,  should 
be  supported  by  the  national  treasury. 

The  Jews  of  France  thus  owed  no  extension  of  their 
rights  to  Napoleon  but  merely  a  confirmation  of  them. 
Their  brethren  in  other  lands,  however,  owed  him  a  more 
substantial  debt  of  gratitude.  In  the  new  Kingdom  of 
Westphalia,  which  was  under  the  rule  of  his  brother, 
Jerome,  the  Jews  were  granted  complete  civil  equality  in 
1808,  whilst  those  in  the  Hanseatic  towns  of  Hamburg, 
Liibeck,  and  Bremen,  were  conceded  their  rights  under 
French  pressure  in  1811.  A  similar  boon  fell  to  the 
lot  of  the  Jews  of  Italy,  but  both  in  that  country  and 
in  the  Hanseatic  towns  it  was  only  of  brief  duration,  for 
with  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  there  set  in  a  general 
reaction.  Pope  Pius  VII  brought  the  Inquisition  to  life 
again,  denuded  his  Jewish  subjects  of  every  freedom, 
thrust  them  back  again  into  the  Ghetto,  and  compelled 
those  who  lived  in  Rome  to  listen  to  proselytizing  sermons. 
Not  until  the  Revolution  of  1848,  which  shook  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  Europe,  did  this  mediaeval  servitude  come  to  an 
end.  Even  then  there  was  a  temporary  reaction.  But 
when  the  Papal  States  in  1859  became  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Italy  under  Victor  Emanuel  II,  the  Jews  at  last  obtained 
their  full  emancipation.  Not  so  those  in  the  city  of 
Rome,  who  had  to  wait  until  1870  before  they  were 
released  by  the  Italian  legions  from  Papal  bondage. 

The  only  other  country  in  Europe  besides  France  in 
which  the  Jews  secured  their  civil  emancipation  before 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  Holland.  Upon 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CIVIL  RIGHTS  139 


the  establishment  of  the  Batavian  Republic  in  1795  the 
more  energetic  members  of  the  Jewish  community  pressed 
for  a  removal  of  the  many  disabilities  under  which  they 
laboured.  They  were  compelled  to  exist  as  small  cor¬ 
porations,  so  that  careful  vigilance  might  be  exercised 
over  them  ;  they  were  excluded  from  the  trades  sacred 
to  the  guilds  ;  they  had  to  contribute  to  the  support 
of  the  Church  and  its  schools,  from  which  they  received 
no  benefit  ;  and  they  had  to  pay  double  fees  for  the 
registration  of  marriages.  Some  of  these  disabilities 
were  removed  in  response  to  vigorous  agitation,  but  the 
demand  for  the  full  rights  of  citizenship  made  by  the 
progressive  Jews  was  at  first,  strangely  enough,  opposed 
by  the  leaders  of  the  Amsterdam  community,  who  feared 
that  civil  equality  would  militate  against  the  conserva¬ 
tion  of  Judaism  and  declared  that  their  co-religionists 
renounced  their  rights  of  citizenship  in  obedience  to  the 
dictates  of  their  faith.  Hence,  although  the  Jews  were 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  elections  to  the  Batavian 
National  Assembly,  very  few  ventured  to  disobey  the 
prohibition  of  their  leaders.  But  undeterred  by  this 
official  opposition  a  disciple  of  the  school  of  Mendelssohn, 
David  Friedrichsfeld,  wrote  an  eloquent  plea  for  the 
enfranchisement  of  his  brethren,  and  six  distinguished 
Jews  presented  a  petition  for  the  purpose  to  the  National 
Assembly.  The  petition,  despite  a  stormy  protest, 
triumphed,  and  on  2nd  September  1796  the  National 
Assembly  decreed  the  complete  equality  of  the  Jews  in  the 
Batavian  Republic.  In  the  following  year  two  Jews 
were  elected  as  deputies  for  Amsterdam,  and  any  lingering 
aversion  to  Jewish  emancipation  disappeared  when  one 
of  them,  Isaac  da  Costa  Atias,  was  appointed  in  1798  to 
the  high  office  of  President  of  the  Assembly. 

The  speedy  and  peaceful  attainment  of  equality  in 
France  and  Holland  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  long 
and  bitter  struggle  that  was  necessary  in  Germany.  The 
struggle  began  in  the  days  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who, 
despite  his  reputed  liberalism  of  thought,  manifested  a 
bigoted  hostility  to  his  Jewish  subjects.  He  severely 


140 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


restricted  their  numbers  in  his  dominions,  limited  their 
marriages,  debarred  them  from  the  most  skilled  trades  and 
liberal  professions,  and  exacted  heavy  taxes  for  the  privi¬ 
lege  of  his  special  protection.  The  high  achievements  of 
Moses  Mendelssohn  in  the  world  of  letters,  the  eloquent 
tribute  of  Lessing’s  Nathan  the  Wise  to  Jewish  char¬ 
acter,  the  vigorous  advocacy  of  J  ewish  rights  by  Christian 
William  Dohm  in  1781,  all  failed  to  make  any  impression 
upon  the  prejudiced  monarch.  Dohm’s  pamphlet  met 
with  a  readier  response  from  a  more  enlightened  monarch, 
Joseph  II  of  Austria,  who  abolished  many  imposts  on 
Jews,  allowed  them  free  choice  of  trades  and  professions, 
admitted  them  to  universities  and  academies,  and  founded 
Jewish  schools  ;  but  unfortunately  this  spell  of  toleration 
terminated  with  the  life  of  the  royal  reformer.  The  first 
measure  of  relief  secured  in  Prussia  was  the  removal  in 
1 787  of  the  poll-tax,  and  a  similar  step  followed  in  the 
Rhineland  and  Bavaria  ;  but  the  prevalent  hostility  to 
the  Jews,  from  which  even  the  poet  Goethe  and  the  philo¬ 
sopher  Fichte  were  not  immune,  retarded  the  cause  of  en¬ 
franchisement.  It  was  not  until  Napoleon  broke  down 
the  feudal  barriers  of  Central  Europe  that  the  dawn  of 
freedom  came  to  the  long-suffering  communities  of  Israel. 
Besides  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  in  Westphalia  and 
the  Hanseatic  towns,  a  restricted  measure  of  liberty  was 
given  to  those  in  Baden,  whilst  in  the  Duchy  of  Frankfort 
civil  equality  was  granted  at  the  price  of  440,000  florins 
in  1811.  More  important  still,  Frederick  William  III  of 
Prussia  abolished  the  system  of  “protected  Jews”  and 
in  1812  conceded  civil  equality,  modified  by  the  exclusion 
of  Jews  from  State  offices.  In  Bavaria  and  Austria  no 
rights  of  any  kind  were  granted,  and  Jews  who  entered 
Vienna  were  subjected  to  a  new  poll-tax.  In  Saxony 
only  a  few  privileged  Jews  were  allowed  in  Dresden  and 
Leipzig,  and  they  were  heavily  taxed  and  forbidden  to 
build  a  synagogue.  But  even  the  scanty  liberties  thus 
hardly  wrung  were  lost  as  soon  as  the  star  of  Napoleon 
sank.  Despite  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  Jews  in  the  wars 
for  the  emancipation  of  Prussia  they  were  thrust  back  into 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CIVIL  RIGHTS  141 


their  former  servitude  and  were  even  deprived  of  the  com¬ 
missions  they  had  won  in  the  army.  A  new  foe  arose  in 
the  form  of  Christian  Germanism,  which  wished  to  identify 
the  State  and  nation  with  the  dominant  religion,  and  the 
historian  Riihs  even  advocated  the  restoration  of  the  medi¬ 
aeval  badge.  At  the  Congress  of  Vienna  promises  were  made 
to  improve  the  Jewish  condition,  but  they  remained  mere 
promises,  and  a  worse  reaction  set  in.  The  Hanse  towns 
expelled  the  Jews,  Frankfort  (after  pocketing  the  half¬ 
million  florins)  imposed  restrictive  laws,  and  then  Austria 
too  enacted  special  decrees,  and  Prussia  followed  suit. 
Tyrol  and  parts  of  Bohemia  and  Moravia  were  closed  to 
the  Jews  ;  liberty  of  trade  and  residence  in  the  country 
was  hampered  ;  and  the  Ghetto  reappeared.  The  climax 
was  reached  in  1819  when  a  series  of  riots  broke  out  against 
the  Jews,  accompanied  by  pillage,  massacre,  and  expulsion, 
which  spread  from  Wurzburg  to  Copenhagen.  And  yet, 
so  varied  was  the  feeling  in  the  country,  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Hesse  enfranchised  its  Jews  in  1820,  whilst  from  1815 
to  1847  there  were  twenty-one  anomalous  laws  restricting 
Jewish  liberty  in  the  eight  provinces  of  Prussia.  Not  until 
1848,  when  Europe  was  visited  by  a  cycle  of  Revolutions, 
was  the  struggle  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  in 
Prussia,  in  which  Gabriel  Riesser,  a  Jewish  lawyer  of 
Hamburg,  played  the  most  prominent  part,  brought  to  a 
successful  issue  by  a  decree  of  the  National  Parliament 
at  Frankfort.  The  Jews  in  Hanover  and  Nassau  were 
granted  equality  later  in  the  same  year,  but  those  in  Wur- 
temberg  had  to  wait  until  1861,  in  Baden  until  1862,  and 
in  Saxony  until  1868.  Upon  the  establishment  of  the 
North  German  Confederation  in  1869  all  religious  dis¬ 
abilities  were  abolished,  and  the  principles  of  civil  equality 
was  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  German  Empire  upon  its 
foundation  in  1870. 

The  Revolution  of  1848  also  ushered  in  the  emancipa¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  in  Austria,  and  the  first  parliament  that 
assembled  in  Vienna  after  the  stirring  events  of  that  year 
contained  five  Jewish  deputies.  But  upon  the  abdication 
of  the  Emperor  Ferdinand  in  the  same  year  and  the  acces- 


142 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


sion  of  Francis  Joseph,  a  reaction  set  in,  fomented  by  the 
clerical  party.  Jews  were  expelled  from  many  cities ; 
their  right  to  hold  property  was  cancelled  ;  they  were 
forbidden  to  keep  Christian  servants  ;  they  were  excluded 
from  positions  as  teachers  in  public  schools  ;  and  they  were 
prohibited  to  establish  congregations  in  Lower  Austria. 
But  the  defeat  of  Austria  in  the  Italian  war  of  1859  brought 
it  to  its  senses.  Early  in  i860  a  new  legislation  was  promul¬ 
gated  which  conferred  upon  the  Jews  of  most  of  the  Aus¬ 
trian  provinces  the  right  to  hold  property  ;  but  it  was  not 
until  the  end  of  1867  that  the  complete  enfranchisement 
of  Jewry  was  established  both  in  Austria  and  Hungary, 
although  it  was  only  as  late  as  1896  that  Judaism  was 
declared  by  the  Parliament  of  Budapest  to  be  a  legally 
recognized  religion. 

The  tardiness  with  which  the  states  in  Central  Europe 
admitted  their  Jewish  subjects  to  the  full  rights  of  citizen¬ 
ship  also  characterized  the  attitude  of  England.  The 
position  of  the  Jews  in  this  country  since  their  readmission 
by  Oliver  Cromwell  was,  it  is  true,  more  favourable  than 
that  of  their  brethren  on  the  Continent  inasmuch  as  they 
were  not  subjected  to  such  degrading  hardships  as  the  poll- 
tax  and  restriction  of  residence  ;  but  they  suffered  under 
a  number  of  disabilities  which  cramped  and  crippled  their 
civil  status,  and  which  were  only  gradually  abolished  by 
1870.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  they 
could  be  debarred  from  voting  at  parliamentary  elections 
if  the  returning  officers  wished  to  exercise  their  powers  ; 
they  could  be  excluded  from  the  Bar  if  the  Inns  of  Court 
objected  ;  they  were  forbidden  to  trade  within  the  City  of 
London  ;  and  they  were  shut  out  from  Parliament,  from 
high  commissions  in  the  army  and  navy,  from  degrees  and 
scholarships  at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  even 
from  attendance  at  the  University  of  Oxford.  The  battle 
for  the  removal  of  these  disabilities  began  immediately  after 
the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics  in  1829,  and  was  vigor¬ 
ously  continued  for  forty  years  until  the  Jew  was  placed 
upon  the  same  level  as  his  Christian  fellow-citizen.  In  1831 
the  Corporation  of  London  opened  its  boundaries  to  Jewish 


THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CIVIL  RIGHTS  143 


traders  ;  in  1833  the  first  Jew  (Francis  Goldsmid)  was 
called  to  the  Bar ;  and  two  years  later  an  Act  was  passed 
that  relieved  all  voters  of  the  necessity  of  taking  the  Oath 
of  Abjuration  and  thus  permitted  Jewish  electors  to  exercise 
the  franchise.  The  efforts  of  the  Jews  were  directed  simul¬ 
taneously  to  obtaining  the  right  to  hold  municipal  office 
and  the  right  to  sit  in  Parliament.  They  succeeded  much 
earlier  in  regard  to  the  former  right  by  adopting  the  tactics  of 
first  securing  the  election  of  a  Jew  to  office  and  then  procur¬ 
ing  the  sanction  of  Parliament  for  an  accomplished  fact. 
Thus,  in  1835,  David  Salomons  was  elected  and  allowed 
to  act  as  Sheriff  of  London  ;  ten  years  later,  after  he  had 
repeatedly  been  elected  alderman,  he  was  permitted  to  hold 
this  office  too  ;  and  another  ten  years  later,  1855,  this  un¬ 
tiring  champion  of  Jewish  rights  was  acclaimed  Lord  Mayor 
of  London.  The  acquisition  of  the  right  to  sit  in  Parlia¬ 
ment  proved  a  much  more  stubborn  and  protracted  pro¬ 
cess.  In  1830  the  first  Bill  for  this  purpose  only  passed  a 
first  reading  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  from  1833  Bill 
after  Bill  was  passed  by  the  Commons  but  rejected  by  the 
Lords  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  In  1847  the  same  tactics 
were  adopted  as  in  the  campaign  for  securing  municipal 
office,  but  although  Baron  Lionel  de  Rothschild  was  elected 
member  for  the  City  of  London  in  that  year  and  again  in 
1850,  and  although  David  Salomons  was  elected  for  Green¬ 
wich  in  1851  and  actually  spoke  in  the  House,  it  was  not 
until  26th  July  1858  that  the  former  was  able,  as  the  first 
J ew,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  virtue  of  a 
resolution  to  permit  Jewish  members  to  omit  the  words  “  on 
the  true  faith  of  a  Christian  ”  from  the  oath.  In  1870  the 
University  Tests  Act  enabled  Jews  to  graduate  and  hold 
scholarships  at  the  ancient  universitsies  ;  and  in  1885,  Sir 
Nathaniel  Rothschild,  a  son  of  Baron  Lionel  de  Rothschild, 
was  made  a  peer,  and,  as  Lord  Rothschild,  was  the  first 
Jew  to  sit  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Not  until  1890,  how¬ 
ever,  was  it  formally  established  that  all  positions  in  the 
British  Empire,  with  the  sole  exception  of  that  of  monarch, 
are  open  to  Jews.1 

1  A.  M.  Hyamson,  A  History  of  the  Jews  in  England,  pp.  333-334. 


144 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


It  is  not  a  little  curious  that  England  was  the  last  of 
English-speaking  countries  to  enfranchise  its  Jews  ;  but  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  country  in  the  world  to  endow 
its  Jewish  subjects  with  the  full  rights  of  citizenship  like¬ 
wise  belongs  to  an  English  state,  namely,  the  United  States 
of  America,  the  Constitution  of  which,  adopted  in  1 787, 
declares  that  “no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as 
a  qualification  to  any  public  office  or  public  trust/’  This 
law  of  equality  was  promptly  adopted  by  all  the  federal 
states,  with  the  exception  of  Maryland,  where  civil  rights 
were  not  secured  until  1820.  In  Canada  these  rights  were 
granted  in  1832,  after  an  agitation  of  twenty-five  years 
following  the  election  of  a  Jew  (Ezekiel  Hart)  to  Parlia¬ 
ment,  which  was  declared  invalid  ;  in  South  Africa,  in  the 
colonization  of  which  Jews  have  played  a  notable  part  as 
pioneers,  complete  equality  has  prevailed  since  1820  ;  and 
in  Australia,  which  Jews  have  likewise  helped  to  develop, 
they  have  enjoyed  equality  since  their  settlement. 

There  remain  but  a  few  other  countries  that  claim 
attention.  In  Belgium  the  Jews  acquired  emancipation  in 
1815,  under  the  influence  of  the  French  Revolution  ;  in 
Denmark  they  were  granted  equality  by  the  Constitution 
of  1849  ;  in  Norway  they  have  enjoyed  equality  since 
1851,  when  a  law  forbidding  their  residence  in  the  country 
was  repealed  ;  in  Sweden  they  were  given  the  franchise 
in  1865  and  the  right  of  election  to  Parliament  in  1870, 
but  they  are  still  excluded  from  the  Council  of  State  and 
the  Ministry  ;  and  in  Switzerland  the  Federal  Government, 
under  outside  pressure,  decreed  the  enfranchisement  of  all 
its  citizens  in  1865.  Spain  in  1858  repealed  its  edict  of 
expulsion  of  more  than  three  and  a  half  centuries  before, 
and  has  recently  shown  a  touching  interest  in  the  return 
of  the  Sephardim  to  its  borders,  whilst  Portugal  enacted 
freedom  of  religion  as  early  as  1825.  The  Jews  of  Algeria 
were  made  French  citizens  at  a  single  stroke  by  a  decree 
of  Cremieux  in  1870.  The  Treaty  of  Berlin  in  1878  brought 
the  Jews  of  Bulgaria  and  Servia  their  civil  emancipation, 
and  the  Turkish  Constitution  of  1908  conferred  equality 
upon  all  the  Jewish  subjects  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 


CHAPTER  II 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 

Conditions  in  the  Orient — Persecution  in  Russia — The  limi¬ 
tation  of  the  right  of  domicile — The  brutality  of  expulsion — 
Limitations  in  education — Limitations  in  public  service  and  liberal 
professions — The  duty  of  military  service — Chronic  oppression — 
Pogroms — Rumania  and  the  Jews — Violating  the  Berlin  Treaty — 
A  record  of  disabilities — Present  position  and  outlook 

THE  saddest  feature  of  the  present  conditions  of 
the  Jewish  people  consists  in  the  state  of  bondage 
to  which  one -half  of  its  numbers  is  condemned 
in  Russia  and  Rumania.  Their  sufferings  in  these 
countries  are  far  more  galling  and  desperate  than  those 
of  the  Jews  in  certain  Oriental  lands,  as  they  are  caused 
by  laws  deliberately  enacted  by  the  Government  for  their 
degradation  and  extermination,  whereas  the  misery  of  the 
Jews  in  the  other  regions  mainly  arises  from  the  impotence 
of  the  Government  to  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of 
the  populace.  Until  the  recent  establishment  of  the  French 
and  Spanish  protectorate  in  Morocco  the  Jews  in  that 
country  were  treated  as  outlaws,  cooped  up  in  a  Mellah 
or  Ghetto,  and  exposed  to  frequent  outrages  on  the  part 
of  the  fanatical  mob  or  rebel  troops,  who  spared  neither 
property  nor  life  ;  but  they  now  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
security  and  justice,  and  their  social  and  economic  con¬ 
ditions  are  gradually  improving.  In  Persia,  rent  by  civil 
war  and  haunted  by  roving  bands,  the  Jews  are  a  prey  to 
degrading  disabilities  and  chronic  outrages  and  are  scarcely 
likely  to  improve  their  lot  if  Russia  increases  her  influence 
in  that  decaying  dominion.  Distressing,  too,  is  the  plight 
of  those  Jews  in  Yemen,  who  have  no  redress  from  the  daily 
io 


146  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


assaults  to  which  they  are  exposed,  and  who  have  had  to 
pay  the  penalty  of  their  loyalty  to  the  Ottoman  Govern¬ 
ment  in  its  recent  campaign  against  the  rebel  Imam  by 
being  condemned  by  the  latter  to  fresh  taxation.1  But 
terrible  as  is  the  misery  in  these  Eastern  lands  it  is  alto¬ 
gether  overshadowed  by  the  barbarous  oppression  inflicted 
upon  the  six  million  Jews  within  the  confines  of  civilized 
Europe. 

The  bondage  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  consists  in  a  multi¬ 
plicity  of  laws  which  rob  them  of  all  liberty  in  the  choice 
of  domicile  and  occupation,  which  cripple  their  oppor¬ 
tunities  of  education,  limit  their  right  to  own  property, 
exclude  them  from  State  and  municipal  service,  and  impose 
heavy  burdens  upon  them  in  regard  to  military  duty. 
Cruel  as  all  these  restrictive  laws  are  they  are  applied  with 
such  caprice  and  chicanery  that  the  Jews  are  reduced  to 
a  condition  of  constant  panic,  from  which  they  cannot 
always  secure  intervals  of  relief  even  by  bribery  ;  whilst 
the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Government  breeds  a  spirit  of 
antagonism  in  the  masses  too,  which  finds  vent  in  that 
diabolical  product  of  Muscovite  culture — the  pogrom. 
Established  in  the  dominions  of  the  Tsar  for  more  than 
two  thousand  years,  ever  since  the  destruction  of  the  first 
Temple,  the  Jews  have  been  the  sport  of  a  pitiless  fate 
which  has  made  them  taste  every  form  of  human  intolerance 
and  State  persecution.  From  the  sixteenth  century  the 
dominant  policy  of  the  Government  towards  them  has 
been  one  of  hostility,  relieved  only  by  a  few  intervals  of 
repose.  Their  oppression  first  assumed  a  serious  form  in 
the  reign  of  Catherine  I  (1725-27),  who  issued  a  decree  of 
expulsion ;  under  Paul  I  (1796-1801)  and  Alexander  I 
(1801-25),  they  enjoyed  a  spell  of  toleration;  under 
Nicholas  I  (1825-55)  the  rod  of  persecution  fell  heavily 
upon  them — systematic  measures  were  adopted  to  force 
them  to  conversion,  and  boys  from  the  age  of  eight  were 

1  A  moving  description  of  the  sufferings  of  these  Jews  in  South  Arabia, 
settled  there  for  over  two  thousand  years,  is  given  in  a  pamphlet,  The 
Yemenite  Jews,  by  Joshua  Feldmann  (Speaight  &  Sons,  1913),  who 
describes  their  recent  emigration  to  Palestine. 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE  i47 

torn  from  their  parents  to  become  soldiers  of  the  Tsar  ; 
under  Alexander  II  (1855-81)  they  were  again  allowed  to 
breathe  freely  and  awaited  the  dawn  of  their  emancipation, 
but  after  his  assassination  they  were,  under  Alexander  III 
plunged  once  more  into  the  gloom  of  the  mediaeval  ages, 
which  has  settled  about  them  even  thicker  and  heavier 
during  the  reign  of  his  son,  Nicholas  II,  despite  the  mock 
Constitution  proclaimed  in  1904.  At  no  period  of  their 
histoiy  were  their  hardships  so  numerous  and  so  burden¬ 
some^  so  degrading  and  so  hopeless,  as  at  present.  Let  us 
examine  their  main  features— a  detailed  survey  would 
demand  several  volumes— and  we  may  be  able  to  appreciate 
something  of  the  bitterness  of  the  bondage  imposed  without 

shame  01  scruple  by  a  modern  Government  upon  its  innocent 
subjects. 

The  most  harassing  of  all  the  laws  that  blast  the  lives 
of  the  Jews  in  Russia  are  those  which  limit  their  right  of 
domicile  and  clog  their  liberty  of  movement.  They  are 
confined  to  a  Pale  of  Settlement  which  was  created  in 
1769,  under  the  reign  of  Catherine  II,  and  extended  after 
the  final  partition  of  Poland  in  1795,  when  another  million 
Jews  came  under  the  iron  hand  of  Russian  rule.  The 
Pale  of  Settlement,  as  it  exists  to-day,  was  substantially 
fixed  in  1835  :  it  comprises  the  ten  governments  or  pro¬ 
vinces  of  Poland  and  fifteen  provinces  of  Lithuania,  White 
Russia,  South-Western  and  Southern  Russia,  the  regions 
in  which  the  great  bulk  of  the  Jews  were  concentrated 
and  where  they  were  decreed  to  remain.  Later  legislation 
also  permitted  the  native  Jews  of  Courland  and  parts  of 
Livonia,  of  the  Caucasus  and  Turkestan,  to  retain  their 
domicile.  By  subsequent  decrees  the  Pale  of  Settlement 
was  curtailed  :  thus  in  1887  the  industrial  district  of 
Rostoff  was  cut  off,  and  a  few  years  later  the  health- 
resort  of  Yalta  was  also  declared  to  be  outside  the  per¬ 
mitted  area.  The  Pale  forms  about  a  twenty-fourth  of 
the  area  of  the  Russian  Empire,  whilst  the  Jews  form  an 
almost  similar  proportion  (4*13  per  cent)  of  the  total 
population.  The  area  assigned  for  Jewish  residence, 
however,  is  much  smaller  than  that  contained  within  the 


148  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


boundaries  of  the  Pale,  for  since  May  1882,  according 
to  the  so-called  Temporary  May  Laws  of  Count  Ignatieff, 
no  further  Jews  were  allowed  to  settle  in  the  villages  in 
the  Pale,  and  once  a  Jew  left  his  village  he  could  not 
return  to  it  or  settle  in  another  village  and  was  thus 
compelled  to  remove  to  a  town.  Moreover,  many  townlets 
were  later  converted,  by  a  mere  stroke  of  a  governor’s 
pen,  into  villages,  and  thus  involved  the  expulsion  of  the 
Jew.  The  consequence  is  that  fully  95  per  cent  of  the 
Jews  in  Russia  are  crowded  into  the  towns  of  the  Pale, 
forming  as  much  as  two-thirds  of  the  population  in  many 
districts,  where  they  are  compelled  to  struggle  against  all 
manner  of  economic  evils  to  keep  body  and  soul  together. 

The  small  percentage  who  are  privileged  to  live  in  any 
part  of  the  Empire  according  to  the  liberal  laws  of 
Alexander  II,  belong  to  the  following  four  categories  : — 
“  (1)  Discharged  soldiers,  after  serving  their  full  time ; 

(2)  merchants  of  the  first  Guild  (paying  a  business  licence 
of  800  to  1000  roubles)  after  having  paid  that  tax  within 
the  Pale  for  five  consecutive  years,  and  if  they  still  belong 
to  the  first  Guild  after  settling  outside  the  Pale  (according 
to  the  law  also,  the  merchants  may  each  take  with  them 
one  Jewish  clerk  and  domestic  servants  up  to  four  persons)  ; 

(3)  graduates  of  universities  and  higher  institutions  of 
learning  in  general,  as  well  as  students  of  these  institutions, 
apothecaries  and  apothecaries’  assistants,  certificated 
dentists,  non-graduate  surgeons,  and  midwives  with  their 
respective  assistants  and  students  in  these  branches ; 

(4)  mechanics,  distillers,  brewers,  and  artisans  generally 
while  pursuing  their  own  callings,  as  well  as  artisans’ 
apprentices  serving  their  time,  but  in  order  to  obtain  their 
passport,  which  has  to  be  renewed  periodically,  they  must 
produce  a  certificate  of  their  vocation  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  established  by  law  for  that  purpose.”  1  The 
privileges  accorded  to  these  various  classes,  however, 

1  The  Legal  Sufferings  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  edited  by  Lucien  Wolf, 
p.  31  (T.  Fisher  Unwin,  1912).  This  is  the  latest  and  best  survey  of  the 
Jewish  disabilities  in  Russia,  and  forms  the  principal  authority  for  the 
present  account. 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


149 


have,  since  1882,  been  considerably  curtailed  and  even 
rendered  nugatory  by  harsh  interpretations  of  the  laws  on 
the  part  of  the  Central  Government  and  the  provincial 
Governors,  as  well  as  by  reason  of  the  despotic  action 
of  the  local  police.  Thus,  in  1885,  the  privilege  of  the 
discharged  soldiers  was  declared  to  be  limited  to  the 
“  Nicholas  ”  soldiers,  namely,  those  who  had  served  prior 
to  1874,  a  class  that  is  dying  out ;  and  hence  the  18,000 
Jewish  soldiers  who  are  drafted  into  the  Russian  army 
every  year  must  go  back  to  the  Pale  after  completing 
several  years’  service,  and  are  even  forbidden  to  spend 
their  leave  outside  its  borders — a  prohibition  that  makes 
most  of  them  forgo  their  furlough.  The  law  which  per¬ 
mitted  the  merchants  to  “  take  with  them  ”  Jewish  clerks 
was  capriciously  interpreted  later  to  mean  that  no  merchant 
had  a  right  to  employ  clerks  who  had  not  actually  accom¬ 
panied  him  on  his  removal  from  the  Pale  to  the  interior 
provinces,  and  thus  hundreds  of  Jewish  clerks  appointed 
later  were  torn  from  their  positions  and  banished  back 
to  the  Pale,  whilst  the  merchants  were  allowed  only  one 
or  two  clerks — an  absurdly  small  number  in  relation  to 
their  business.  The  members  of  the  academic  category 
were  also  subjected  to  various  disqualifications.  Graduates 
who  had  obtained  their  degree  abroad  were  not  allowed 
to  live  outside  the  Pale,  whilst  students  at  a  Russian 
university  were  only  permitted  to  live  in  their  own 
university  town.  Female  private  teachers,  not  being 
specifically  mentioned  in  the  law,  are  refused  the  universal 
right  of  residence,  and  surgeons,  dentists,  and  midwives, 
who  do  not  actually  exercise  their  profession — whether 
because  of  infirmity  or  because  they  have  found  a  better 
opening — must  return  to  the  Pale.  Artisans  are  subjected 
to  even  harsher  regulations.  Not  only  must  they  furnish 
themselves  with  certificates  of  proficiency  in  their  craft, 
which  are  dear  and  difficult  to  get,  but  they  are  placed 
under  supervision  to  ensure  that  they  practise  their  trade, 
they  are  allowed  to  live  in  the  interior  provinces  only  so 
long  as  they  exercise  their  trade,  they  must  not  sell  any 
articles  not  directly  connected  with  their  handicraft  nor 


150  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

sell  their  own  products  outside  their  town,  and  they  must 
not  give  a  night’s  shelter  to  any  non-privileged  person — 
even  a  near  relative.  If  they  wish  to  exchange  their 
trade  they  must  go  back  to  the  Pale  to  qualify  over  again, 
a  process  that  means  heavy  expense,  long  delay,  and  a 
ruinous  holiday  ;  when  they  become  old  and  infirm  and 
can  no  longer  work  they  lose  their  right  of  residence  ; 
and  if  an  artisan  dies  at  his  work  and  his  wife  is  unable 
to  carry  on  his  trade,  she  and  her  children  are  driven  back 
to  the  Pale.  Moreover,  many  trades  have  been  struck 
off  the  privileged  list  during  the  last  thirty  years,  such  as 
tobacco  -  workers,  fish-curers,  stonemasons,  carpenters, 
butchers,  etc.,  and  even  the  privileged  artisan  is  now 
denied  access  to  vast  regions  of  the  Empire — the  Don 
Territory,  Yalta,  the  government  of  Moscow,  Siberia,  and 
part  of  the  Caucasus.  How  grudgingly  the  Government 
allows  even  these  few  privileged  classes  to  live  outside 
the  Pale  is  seen  in  the  inhuman  provision  which  permits 
children  to  remain  with  their  parents  only  until  they  come 
of  age  and  then  compels  them  either  to  qualify  independ¬ 
ently  or  else  to  wander  back  alone  to  the  Pale.  Similarly, 
a  married  daughter  whose  husband  has  no  right  to  live 
outside  the  Pale  forfeits  the  right  to  visit  her  parents  in 
the  interior  provinces.  Still  worse,  the  children  of  a 
certificated  midwife  are  not  allowed  to  live  with  their 
mother  beyond  the  Pale  unless  their  father  also  possesses 
the  privilege  independently.  The  Russian  Government  has 
the  same  fear  of  infants  as  the  Pharaoh  “who  knew  not 
Joseph.”  It  is  also,  as  has  already  been  observed,  very 
severe  towards  women,  who  find  it  more  difficult  than 
men  to  acquire  an  independent  privilege  of  residence. 
To  only  one  class  of  women  is  the  entire  Russian  Empire 
open — the  prostitute  :  an  exception  that  throws  a  lurid 
light  upon  the  moral  calibre  of  the  Russian  legislator. 
And  should  a  Jewess  take  the  prostitute’s  “  yellow  ticket  ” 
— happily  a  rare  phenomenon — with  the  object  of  pursuing 
her  studies  or  teaching  outside  the  Pale,  she  is  reprimanded 
for  not  following  her  “  certified  profession  ”  and  is  sent 
back  home  for  “  transgressing  the  law.”  The  restric- 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


151 

tions  of  residence  are  also  extended  to  foreign  Jews. 
Any  foreign  Jew  who  is  the  representative  of  a  recognized 
commercial  firm  may  obtain  permission  through  a  Russian 
consulate  to  dwell  in  Russia  three  months  ;  but  all  other 
foreign  Jews  who  wish  to  visit  Russia,  whether  for  private 
reasons  or  in  order  to  attend  a  scientific  congress,  must 
procure  the  special  authorization  of  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  which  is  in  most  cases  refused  or  granted  only 
under  humiliating  conditions.1 

The  measures  adopted  by  the  Government  and  the 
local  authorities  to  enforce  all  these  restrictions  are  marked 
by  wanton  brutality.  Orders  are  periodically  sent  from 
St.  Petersburg  or  from  some  provincial  centre  to  investigate 
the  residential  rights  of  Jews  in  particular  towns,  and  they 
are  carried  out  by  the  local  police  with  a  zeal  that  knows  no 
shame.  The  police  seize  Jews  in  the  streets,  force  their  way 
into  their  homes,  and,  worst  of  all,  make  midnight  raids, 
dragging  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  out  of  their  beds 
to  see  whether  they  are  committing  the  crime  of  living  out¬ 
side  the  Pale  without  the  legal  permit.  Woe  betide  those 
who  are  found  guilty,  for  they  are  generally  marched 
like  convicts  through  the  streets  in  the  early  morning, 
denied  any  opportunity  of  winding  up  their  affairs, 
and  forced  back  to  the  Pale.2  Thus  were  5000  Jews 
expelled  from  Kieff  in  1910,  and  thus  were  hundreds  of 
families  expelled  from  their  homes  in  Siberia  in  all  the 
severity  of  mid-winter  (1909-10).  Even  the  sick  are  not 
spared,  and  the  ailing  Jews  and  Jewesses  who  are  dis¬ 
covered  at  Yalta,  or  Piatigorsk,  or  at  any  other  of  the 
protected  health-resorts,  are  summarily  expelled  with  the 
risk  of  endangering  their  lives.  Thousands  of  Jews  are 


1  In  1911,  Mr.  Oscar  Straus,  then  United  States  Ambassador  in 
Constantinople,  wished  to  visit  Russia,  but  as  the  requisite  document  was 
worded  in  an  unusual  manner  he  abandoned  the  projected  journey. 
Furthermore,  a  British  officer,  ordered  by  his  War  Office  to  the  Far  East, 
was  refused  permission  to  travel  by  the  Siberian  Railway  because  he  was  a 
Jew  ( Legal  Sufferings  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  p.  73).  In  November  1913, 
Dr.  Georg  Brandes  was  also  refused  permission  to  visit  Russia  for  a 
lecturing  engagement. 

2  The  technical  term  for  such  “  drives  ”  is  oblava . 


152 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


thus  irretrievably  ruined  in  health  and  in  business  year 
after  year  ;  and  those  who  remain  in  the  interior  provinces 
are  enveloped  in  an  atmosphere  of  dread  and  try  to  buy 
repose  and  protection  by  bribing  the  police.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  million  pounds 
sterling  are  levied  every  year  by  the  police  from  the  Jews 
for  their  “  protection,”  a  sufficiently  valuable  reason  why 
the  Russian  bureaucracy  is  opposed  to  the  emancipation 
of  the  Jews. 

Another  fertile  source  of  oppression  is  the  restriction 
of  opportunity  in  regard  to  education.  Since  1886  the 
admission  of  the  Jews  to  secondary  schools  and  universities 
has  been  limited  to  10  per  cent  of  the  register  within  the 
Pale  and  5  per  cent  without  it,  except  in  St.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow,  where  the  limit  is  fixed  at  3  per  cent.  Jewish 
pupils  are  admitted  to  commercial  schools  only  in  a  ratio 
equal  to  that  of  the  Jewish  merchants  paying  the  Guild 
taxes,  by  means  of  which  the  schools  are  maintained;  whilst 
they  are  wholly  excluded  from  important  technical  institu¬ 
tions.  Under  Nicholas  I  and  Alexander  II  the  Russian 
Government  urged  the  Jews  to  attend  the  State  schools, 
as  they  were  then  largely  opposed  to  secular  learning  ; 
now  that  Jews  show  an  avidity  for  modern  education  the 
Government  tries  to  paralyze  their  aspirations,  and  even 
forbids  the  teaching  of  Russian  in  private  Hebrew  schools. 
Beyond  the  Pale  there  are  comparatively  few  to  make  use 
of  the  5  per  cent  rule,  and  within  it  the  eagerness  to  be 
included  within  the  limited  10  per  cent  compels  youths  to 
cram  desperately  for  the  qualifying  examination  and  makes 
their  parents  resort  to  the  bribery  of  headmasters  and 
teachers.  Failure  is  often  followed  by  tragedy.1  Jewish 
parents  are  even  known  to  pay  for  the  education  of  addi¬ 
tional  Christian  pupils  so  as  to  create  extra  places  for 

1  “  In  Wilna  the  son  of  the  advocate  Schmerling  has  committed  suicide 
by  throwing  himself  out  of  the  window  of  the  third  story  because,  after 
waiting  for  two  years,  he  was  refused  admission  to  the  University,  by 
reason  of  the  percentage  norm”  ( Hilfsverein  Report,  1911,  p.  123).  Since 
last  February,  by  an  order  of  M.  Kasso,  the  Minister  of  Instruction,  the 
admission  of  Jews  to  Universities  must  be  decided  by  lots,  a  cunning 
device  for  depriving  them  of  all  incentive. 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


153 


their  own  children.  The  widespread  difficulty  of  getting 
into  the  universities,  however,  forces  hundreds  of  students 
— men  and  women — every  year  to  migrate  to  universities 
abroad,  where  through  lack  of  means,  ignorance  of  the 
vernacular,  and  inability  to  earn  anything  in  their 
leisure,  they  are  often  reduced  to  penury.  Over  4000 
Russian  students  are  now  at  foreign  universities,  and  the 
great  majority,  who  are  in  Germany,  have  been  afflicted 
with  a  further  hardship,  as  several  German  universities 
have  also  adopted  the  principle  of  limiting  the  attendance 
of  Russian  Jewish  students.  This  anti- Jewish  movement 
has  also  spread  to  some  universities  in  Austria  and 
Switzerland.  Even  after  graduating  abroad  the  Jew 
must  submit  to  another  examination  on  his  return  to 
Russia,  in  order  to  obtain  recognition  of  his  diploma. 

The  policy  of  suppressing  the  Jews  as  an  intellectual  and 
economic  factor  is  rigorously  applied  in  their  exclusion 
from  State  and  municipal  service,  in  their  limitation  in 
the  liberal  professions,  and  the  restriction  of  their  right  to 
own  property.  The  few  isolated  cases  of  Jews  in  Govern¬ 
ment  service  are  due  to  special  and  fortuitous  circum¬ 
stances  ;  for  the  great  bulk  of  university-trained  Jews 
there  can  be  no  appointment  without  baptism.  They  are 
not  employed  in  the  police  service  except  as  spies  and  in¬ 
formers  :  thus  are  their  talents  prostituted  to  the  ends  of 
a  despotic  bureaucracy,  which  then  has  a  plausible  pretext 
to  abuse  them.  They  are  excluded  from  the  bench,  from 
appointments  in  schools  and  universities,  and  from  the 
railway  and  post  office  departments.  Since  1881  they  have 
been  limited  to  5  per  cent  of  the  army  surgeons,  but  upon 
the  outbreak  of  the  Russo-Japanese  War  hundreds  of 
Jewish  surgeons  were  torn  away  from  their  civil  practice, 
sent  off  to  the  most  dangerous  positions  in  the  theatre  of 
war,  and  curtly  dismissed  after  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
Jews  can  neither  elect  councillors  of  the  municipality  nor 
be  elected  to  such  positions,  but  the  governors  in  the  Pale 
may  “  at  their  pleasure  ”  appoint  several  Jewish  representa¬ 
tives,  not  exceeding  a  tenth  of  the  corporation — a  humi¬ 
liating  concession  that  is  spurned  by  self-respecting  Jews. 


154 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


They  are  also  excluded  from  the  Zemstvos  (rural  assemblies), 
limited  to  one-third  of  the  members  of  stock  exchanges  and 
produce  exchanges,  and  altogether  forbidden  to  act  as 
brokers  in  certain  corn  exchanges  where  the  trade  is  mainly 
in  Jewish  hands.  Shut  out  from  the  civil  service,  Jews 
of  academic  education  find  scanty  openings  even  in  the 
legal  and  teaching  professions.  They  cannot  be  called  to 
the  bar  or  qualify  as  solicitors  without  the  special  permission 
of  the  Minister  of  Justice,  which  is  very  rarely  given  ;  and 
they  are  even  forbidden  to  give  private  instruction  in  non- 
Jewish  families.  Moreover,  since  1882,  Jews  are  prohibited 
to  buy  or  rent  land  beyond  the  precincts  of  a  town,  a 
prohibition  that  has  utterly  crippled  the  attempts  to  create 
a  Jewish  peasantry.  Even  in  the  Jewish  agricultural 
colonies  founded  by  the  Government  itself,  where  large 
tracts  are  of  poor  quality,  they  are  not  allowed  to  buy  or 
lease  additional  land,  and  although  many  colonies  are  thus 
faced  by  gradual  ruin  the  anti-Semitic  press  taunts  the 
Jews  with  an  aversion  for  agriculture. 

Deprived  of  all  elementary  rights  and  placed  under 
constant  surveillance  like  convicts  on  parole,  the  hapless 
Jews  must  help  in  the  defence  of  their  cruel  fatherland 
ever  in  greater  measure  than  the  Christians.  According 
to  the  census  of  1897  they  furnished  20*6  per  cent 
more  soldiers  to  the  Russian  army  than  their  quota, 
and  in  1902-03  they  furnished  from  35  to  37  per  cent 
more.  According  to  their  ratio  to  the  total  population 
they  should  provide  not  more  than  13,500  conscripts 
annually,  but  in  recent  years  they  have  been  made  to  supply 
from  17,000  to  18,000  every  year.  This  disproportion  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Russian  authorities  deliberately 
ignore  the  immense  Jewish  emigration,  which  even  in  years 
of  calm  amounts  to  50,000,  and  likewise  fail  to  take  into 
account  the  incomplete  registration  of  Jewish  deaths.  For 
every  Jew  who  fails  to  report  himself  for  military  service 
the  Government  exacts  from  his  family  a  fine  of  300  roubles 
(£30).  The  desired  conscript  may  have  died  or  emigrated 
or  deserted  the  Jewish  fold  :  it  is  all  one — the  fine  must 
be  paid.  Thousands  of  Jewish  families  have  been  reduced 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


155 


to  beggary  by  this  barbarous  extortion,  but  the  Russian 
Government,  which  has  already  benefited  to  the  extent 
of  £5,000,000  by  this  mediaeval  system  of  spoliation,  knows 
neither  justice  nor  pity.1  And  yet,  although  the  Jews 
are  so  much  sought  after  as  soldiers,  they  are  treated  in 
the  army  with  every  mark  of  degradation.  They  are 
excluded  from  the  military  schools,  from  all  commissions, 
and  even  from  the  rank  of  sergeant-major  ;  they  are  shut 
out  from  the  guards  and  the  navy,  from  the  frontier  and 
quarantine  service  ;  they  may  not  form  more  than  a  third 
of  the  musicians  in  a  military  band,  and  they  are  for¬ 
bidden  to  conduct  it.  But  when  war  breaks  out  they  must 
supply  a  relatively  larger  contingent  for  the  troops  than 
any  other  nationality,  and  the  regiments  with  the  biggest 
proportion  of  Jewish  soldiers  are  sent  to  the  most  danger¬ 
ous  positions.  In  the  Crimean  War  the  Christian  popula¬ 
tion  in  the  western  provinces  of  Russia  supplied  19  soldiers 
per  1000,  and  in  the  eastern  provinces  9  per  1000,  while 
the  Jews  had  to  furnish  30  per  1000. 2  In  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War  there  were  40,000  Jewish  soldiers,  many  of 
whom,  on  their  return,  found  their  homes  a  prey  to  the 
pogrom  fiends. 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  disabilities  of  the  Jews 
in  Russia  represents  but  a  tithe  of  their  sufferings.  The 

1  The  following  typical  episode  is  related  in  the  Vossische  Zeitung  of 
30th  March  1913  :  “  In  the  year  1908  the  eleven-year-old  son  of  a  Jew 
named  Manela,  who  removed  from  Kielce  to  Lodz,  was  summoned  by  the 
Military  Commission  to  join  the  army.  The  little  recruit  naturally  did  not 
respond.  Some  time  after,  the  father,  to  his  great  surprise,  was  sentenced 
to  a  fine  of  300  roubles.  As  the  matter  had  become  serious  Manela  went 
with  his  son  to  Kielce  and  convinced  the  Military  Commission  by  ocular 
evidence  that  the  boy  was  really  only  eleven  years  old.  But  the  Military 
Commission  had  no  power  to  absolve  him  of  the  fine  and  advised  him  to 
appeal  to  the  District  Court,  a  step  which  he  was  unable  to  take  owing 
to  the  expense.  Thereupon  his  furniture  was  seized  and  sold  by  auction, 
and  as  this  did  not  yield  sufficient  money  the  new  furniture  that  he 
obtained  was  overtaken  by  a  similar  fate.  Manela  then  appealed  to  the 
Governor  and  also  to  the  late  Prime  Minister,  M.  Stolypin,  but  without 
avail.  Ultimately  he  appealed  to  the  District  Court,  but  three  years  have 
now  passed  and  he  is  still  awaiting  the  Court's  decision.  In  the  meantime 
his  son  has  reached  his  sixteenth  year,  but  cannot  get  a  passport  as  he  is 
officially  a  deserter  !  ” 

2  Legal  Sufferings  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  p.  6. 


156  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


oppressive  laws  have  been  narrated  here  with  some  attempt 
at  sequence  and  consistency,  but  as  they  have  been  issued 
at  different  periods  and  by  different  authorities,  and  as 
they  are  frequently  marked  by  an  ambiguity  of  phrasing, 
they  are  often  erroneously  and  illegally  applied  and  thus 
inflict  hardship  even  upon  those  who,  according  to  Russia’s 
mediaeval  code  of  justice,  should  be  immune  from  annoy¬ 
ance.  For  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  rests  with  the 
provincial  Governors,  desirous  of  securing  promotion  by 
evincing  an  excess  of  zeal,  and  with  the  local  police,  who 
are  by  no  means  punctilious  about  either  the  technicalities 
of  the  law  or  considerations  of  humanity.  Repeated 
appeals  are  consequently  made  to  the  Central  Government 
in  St.  Petersburg,  but  the  decisions,  which  are  delayed  for 
months  and  even  years,  are  seldom  in  favour  of  the  Jews. 
Since  1881  over  3000  interpretations  of  the  anti- Jewish 
laws  have  been  issued  by  the  Ruling  Senate,  and  every 
year  adds  to  their  number.  It  was  in  1881  that  the 
present  era  of  barbarous  legislation  started  upon  its 
destructive  course,  the  climax  of  which  it  would  be  difficult 
to  predict,  for  every  week,  nay  every  day,  brings  some 
fresh  story  of  Jewish  wrong.1  There  have,  indeed,  been 
Russian  statesmen  who  have  favoured  the  removal  of  the 
heavy  yoke,  but  their  mere  espousal  of  the  Jewish  cause 
has  sufficed  to  render  them  impotent  for  good.  In  1882 
Count  Pahlen’s  Commission  reported  in  favour  of  the 
gradual  and  complete  emancipation  of  the  Jews,  but  the 
same  year  witnessed  a  tightening  of  their  bonds.  In 
October  1905,  M.  Witte  recommended  “  the  necessity  of 
equalizing  the  civil  rights  of  all  Russian  subjects  without 
distinction  of  nationality  or  faith,”  and  in  the  same  month 
broke  out  that  epidemic  of  pogroms  which  raged  with  brief 
intervals  all  over  the  country  for  nearly  a  year.  Even  a 
circular  issued  by  M.  Stolypin  in  1907  to  legalize  the 
residence  of  non-privileged  Jews  already  settled  outside 
the  Pale,  provided  they  were  not  politically  objectionable, 
was  twisted  into  a  weapon  of  attack  against  those  Jews 
who  were  actually  in  possession  of  the  domiciliary  privilege, 

1  See  Note  on  p.  326. 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


157 


on  the  ground  that  they  were  inimical  to  the  social  order. 
On  this  trumpery  charge  thousands  have  been  banished, 
even  infants  and  greybeards,  from  a  host  of  towns  in  all 
parts  of  the  Empire.  But  more  horrifying  than  all  these 
expulsions  and  barbarous  decrees  are  the  pogroms  that  have 
made  Russia  an  inferno  for  the  Jews,  plunging  them  into  a 
veritable  saturnalia  of  robbery,  rape,  murder,  desecration 
of  synagogues,  and  wholesale  demolition  of  property,  in 
which  bloodthirsty  hooligans  are  instigated  by  the  civil 
authorities  and  aided  by  the  military  and  police.1  These 
pogroms  first  became  a  familiar  feature  in  the  years  1881-83, 
when  224  broke  out  in  South  Russia  and  Poland,  despoiling 
70,000  poor  Jews  of  their  belongings,  and  inflicting  a  loss 
of  nearly  11  million  roubles  (about  £1,100,000).  Further 
massacres  took  place  in  1891,  1892,  and  1903,  but  the  most 
devastating  of  all  were  the  pogroms  of  October  1905, 
when  as  many  as  725  places  were  the  scenes  of  riot,  rape, 
and  bloodshed,  whereby  over  200,000  Jews  suffered  a 
direct  loss  of  nearly  63  million  roubles  (£6,300,000),  whilst 
in  the  riots  extending  from  October  1905  to  September 
1906,  over  1000  Jews  were  killed  and  7000-8000  were 
wounded,  the  total  material  loss  amounting  to  66  million 
roubles  (£6,600,000)  apart  from  the  incalculable  economic 
damage  of  an  indirect  nature.  And  in  addition  to  this 
long  succession  of  misfortunes  the  Jews  have  constantly 
to  suffer  from  an  unfair  administration  of  justice,  to  see 
their  assailants  acquitted  by  biased  judges,  and  to  be  put 
upon  trial  themselves  on  some  trumpery  or  legendary 
charge,  such  as  the  harbouring  of  a  non-privileged  relative 
in  a  house  outside  the  Pale,  the  collecting  of  money  for 
Jewish  colonization  in  Palestine,  or  the  alleged  murder  of 


1  A  considerable  literature  has  grown  up  about  the  Russian  pogroms. 
The  standard  work  is  Die  Judenpogrome  in  Russland  (Judischer  Verlag, 
Berlin,  1910,  2  vols.),  comprising  nearly  1000  pages  of  painful  and  often 
gruesome  reading,  which  demands  very  strong  nerves.  See  also  The 
Russian  Government  and  the  Massacres,  by  E.  Semenoff  (John  Murray, 
1907),  which  proves  the  complicity  of  the  Government  ;  Russia  at  the 
Bar  of  the  American  People,  edited  by  Isidore  Singer  (Funk  &  Wagnalls, 
1904),  and  Within  the  Pale,  by  Michael  Davitt  (Hurst  &  Blackett,  1903), 
the  last  two  dealing  mainly  with  the  Kishineff  massacres  of  1903. 


158  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


a  Christian  child  for  the  use  of  his  blood  in  the  Passover 
ritual.  Unfounded  as  this “ritual  murder  ’  ’  charge  has  always 
been,  it  has  become  one  of  the  deadliest  weapons  in  the 
arsenal  of  the  Russian  Anti-Semitism,  and  is  produced 
almost  without  fail  on  the  eve  of  every  Passover  to  do  its 
mischievous  work.  The  most  recent  occasion  on  which 
this  calumny  was  advanced,  was  on  the  murder  of  the  boy 
Andrew  Yuschinsky,  in  Kieff,  on  12th  March  1911,  when  an 
innocent  Jew,  Mendel  Beilis,  was  made  its  victim  ;  and 
although  the  most  eminent  men — statesmen  and  theo¬ 
logians,  politicians  and  professors,  scientists  and  authors — 
in  England,  France,  Germany,  and  even  Russia  itself,1 
repudiated  the  charge  as  a  malicious  and  superstitious 
libel,  the  Russian  Government  made  desperate  efforts 
to  prove  it,  and  kept  Beilis  in  prison  for  two  and  a  half 
years,  though  it  was  compelled  to  release  him  at  last 
upon  his  being  found  innocent  after  a  trial  lasting  a  month. 
What  wonder,  therefore,  if  the  radical  solution  of  the 
Russo- Jewish  question  propounded  by  that  unholy  Pro¬ 
curator  of  the  Holy  Synod,  Pobiedonostzev,  whom  Momm¬ 
sen  called  **  a  resurrected  Torquemada,”  is  apparently 
being  realized  ?  The  solution  of  that  arch-enemy  of 
Israel  was  that  one- third  of  the  Jews  should  be  forced  to 
emigrate,  one-third  should  be  absorbed  into  the  bosom  of 
the  Church,  and  the  remaining  third  should  perish  of  hunger. 
During  the  last  thirty  years  two  million  Jews  have  emi¬ 
grated  ;  thousands,  especially  among  the  educated  circles, 
have  baptized  themselves  ;  and  pauperism  has  spread  to 
such  an  alarming  degree  that  from  one-fifth  to  one-third 
of  the  Jews  in  different  towns  are  now  dependent  upon 
charity.  The  great  majority  of  those  who  remain  in 
Russian  captivity  are  unable  to  raise  the  fare  to  a  land  of 
refuge,  and  they  face  the  future  in  a  spirit  of  stoicism 
steeled  by  the  untold  calamities  of  the  past.  The  future 

1  The  Blood  Accusation  has  been  refuted  by  many  Christian  scholars, 
notably  Prof.  H.  L.  Strack.  It  has  also  been  condemned  as  baseless  in 
several  Papal  Bulls.  The  Encyclical  issued  by  Innocent  IV  (1247)  and  the 
Report  drawn  up  in  1758  by  Cardinal  Ganganelli  (later  Clement  XIV)  are 
authenticated  by  Cardinal  Merry  del  Val,  Papal  Secretary  of  State,  in  a 
letter,  dated  18th  October  1913,  to  Lord  Rothschild. 


WEARY  WANDERERS 


FROM  THE  FAINTING  BY  LEOPOLD  PILICHOWSKI 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


159 


is  overhung  with  the  blackest  clouds,  for  all  the  reactionary 
forces  in  the  various  forms  of  Nationalism,  Clericalism, 
“  Real  Russianism,”  and  Pan-Slavism,  apart  from  the 
old-established  bureaucratic  despotism,  are  in  the  ascend¬ 
ant  ;  and  in  addition  to  all  their  official  persecutors  the 
Jews  in  Poland  are  now  subjected  to  a  systematic  economic 
boycott — the  irony  of  it  all  ! — by  oppressed  Poles,  which 
is  calculated  to  crush  out  of  them  any  remaining  spark  of 
vitality. 

The  plight  of  the  quarter  of  a  million  Jews  in  Rumania 
is  in  several  respects  even  worse  than  that  of  their  brethren 
in  Russia,  and  affords  a  striking  example  of  the  duplicity  of 
a  modern  State.  Settled  in  the  country  for  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  years — long  before  the  advent  of  the 
Roman  convicts  who  were  introduced  by  Trajan  to  populate 
the  fertile  land  of  the  Dacians — the  Jews  are  treated  as 
outlaws  and  subjected  to  a  mass  of  harassing  and  humiliating 
restrictions  despite  the  solemn  Treaty  obligation  entered 
into  by  Rumania  in  1878.  The  Berlin  Treaty,  by  Article 
44,  made  it  a  prime  condition  of  the  independence  of 
Rumania  that  difference  of  religious  belief  should  not 
preclude  anyone  from  the  enjoyment  of  civil  and  political 
rights,  admission  to  public  offices  and  honours,  or  the 
exercise  of  various  professions  and  industries.  In  other 
words,  the  signatory  Powers  demanded  the  complete  civil 
and  political  emancipation  of  the  Jews  in  Rumania. 
Their  action  was  due  to  the  merciless  persecution  of  the 
Jews  which  had  become  a  European  scandal.  The  Jews 
were  treated  as  aliens  incapable  of  naturalization,  they 
were  denied  all  freedom  of  economic  activity,  and  they 
were  driven  from  the  villages  into  the  towns  where  they  were 
exposed  to  riots  and  massacres,  where  their  homes  were 
plundered,  and  their  synagogues  polluted  and  demolished. 
The  Powers  therefore  wished  to  secure  respect  for  the 
elements  of  humanity  in  return  for  the  sovereign  independ¬ 
ence  which  Rumania  sought.  The  Treaty  of  Berlin  also 
required  the  bestowal  of  civil  and  political  equality  upon  the 
Jews  in  Bulgaria,  Servia,  and  Turkey,  an  act  which  these 
countries  readily  conceded.  But  the  Rumanian  Govern- 


i6o  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


ment  protested  that  the  immediate  emancipation  of  its 
Jewish  subjects  would  be  a  peril  to  the  State  and  proposed 
an  alternative  to  Article  44.  This  alternative  had  such 
apparent  resemblance  to  the  original  Article  that  the  Powers 
in  their  innocence  accepted  it,  for  it  declared  explicitly  : 
“  Difference  in  religious  beliefs  and  confessions  does  not 
constitute  in  Rumania  an  obstacle  to  the  obtainment  of 
civil  and  political  rights,  nor  to  the  exercise  of  these  rights,” 
and  it  was  followed  by  the  reassuring  stipulation  :  “A 
foreigner,  without  distinction  of  religion,  and  whether  a 
subject  or  not  of  a  foreign  Government,  can  become 
naturalized  under  the  following  conditions.”  The  principal 
conditions  were  that  the  foreigner  should  address  to  the 
Government  an  application  for  naturalization  and  reside 
for  the  next  ten  years  in  the  country,  to  prove  he  was  of 
service  to  it,  and  that  naturalization  could  only  be  granted 
by  law — that  is,  by  Act  of  Parliament — and  individually. 
As  the  principle  of  civil  and  religious  equality  was  practically 
retained  in  this  revised  article,  the  Powers,  after  the  dis¬ 
persal  of  the  Berlin  Congress,  agreed  to  accept  it  in  lieu  of 
Article  44,  on  condition  that  jit  was  made  part  of  the  Con¬ 
stitution.  To  this  Rumania,  with  a  pretence  of  mag¬ 
nanimity,  submitted,  and  Lord  Salisbury  expressed  the  hope 
that  it  would  bring  matters  “  into  exact  conformity  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.”  Little  did  the  Powers 
dream  that  their  confidence  would  be  shamefully  abused 
and  that  Rumania  would  cunningly  extricate  itself  from 
its  solemn  contract. 

To  prove  that  it  did  not  violate  the  principle  of  religious 
equality  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  its  Jewish  subjects 
in  bondage  the  Rumanian  Government  brazenly  declared 
all  the  Jews  in  the  country  to  be  foreigners,  whose  status 
could  only  be  improved  by  the  laws  pertaining  to  the 
naturalization  of  foreigners.  In  vain  was  it  pointed  out  that 
the  Jews  had  been  settled  in  the  country  uninterruptedly 
for  more  than  fifteen  centuries  and  had  shed  their  blood  in 
its  defence.  The  Government  insisted  upon  regarding  its 
native  Jewish  subjects  as  aliens,  though  they  were  under 
the  protection  of  no  other  State,  and  more  than  one  states- 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


161 


man  boasted  of  the  trick  that  had  been  played  upon  the 
diplomatists  of  Europe.  A  pretence  was  made  of  emanci¬ 
pating  the  Jews  by  naturalizing  in  a  body  the  883  Jewish 
soldiers  who  had  fought  in  the  war  against  Turkey,  but  most 
of  them  had  not  survived  to  enjoy  the  honour.  After  this 
impressive  display  of  generosity  the  Government,  in  1880, 
naturalized  another  fifty-seven  native  Jews,  but  since  then 
a  steadily  diminishing  number  has  been  admitted  to  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  the  total  within  the  last  thirty-five 
years  hardly  exceeding  200.  Every  year  the  Government 
submits  the  names  of  a  list  of  Jews  to  each  Chamber,  but 
takes  care  that  only  a  small  proportion  shall  be  passed  by 
both  Chambers,  whose  joint  ratification  is  necessary  for 
complete  naturalization.  But  the  Jews  are  not  even  treated 
as  ordinary  foreigners,  who  can  invoke  the  protection  of 
their  home  Government.  They  are  legally  described  as 
“  persons  under  Rumanian  protection,”  but  this  protection 
has  manifested  itself  in  a  series  of  oppressive  laws,  mostly 
enacted  during  the  last  thirty  years,  which  are  designed  to 
force  them  to  emigrate  or  to  reduce  them  to  starvation. 
Virtually,  therefore,  they  are  outlaws.  The  only  exception 
consists  of  a  part  of  the  Jews  who  lived  in  the  Dobrudja 
before  it  was  ceded  by  Turkey  to  Rumania  after  the  Russo- 
Turkish  War  in  compensation  for  Rumania's  cession  of 
Bessarabia  to  Russia.  The  Jews  in  the  Dobrudja  who, 
before  nth  April  1878,  were  Ottoman  subjects,  were 
promised  the  rights  of  Rumanian  citizenship  by  the  re¬ 
script  ratifying  the  annexation  ;  but  these  rights  were  not 
granted  by  law  until  9th  April  1909,  and  they  were  con¬ 
fined  only  to  those  Jews  who  could  prove  by  documentary 
evidence  that  they  had  formerly  been  Ottoman  subjects. 

The  native  Jews  in  Rumania  are  not  allowed  to  own 
land  or  even  to  till  it  as  hired  labourers.  They  have  been 
expelled  from  the  rural  districts  and  driven  into  the  towns 
where  most  of  the  avenues  to  an  honest  living  are  closed  to 
them.  They  are  excluded  from  the  civil  service  and  from 
the  medical,  legal,  and  teaching  professions.  They  may  not 
form  more  than  a  fourth  of  the  workmen  or  staff  in  any 
factory  applying  for  the  Government  benefits  without  which 
11 


1 62 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


industry  in  Rumania  cannot  flourish  ;  whilst  Jewish  fac¬ 
tories  are  wholly  denied  such  benefits.  Their  economic 
plight  is  aggravated  by  their  forced  idleness  one-third  of  the 
year,  for  Jewish  shops,  factories,  and  workshops,  apart  from 
observing  the  Jewish  Sabbaths  and  festivals  on  sixty-five 
days  of  the  year,  must  also  close  on  Sundays  and  about  a 
dozen  Church  festivals.  Jewish  merchants  who  have  to 
visit  a  rural  district  on  business  are  placed  under  police 
supervision  to  prevent  them  from  coming  into  contact  with 
the  villagers,  who  might  be  enlightened  as  to  the  true  cause 
of  their  permanent  distress — absentee  landlordism  and 
Government  indifference.  The  road  to  education  is  also 
barred.  Jews  are  excluded  from  the  secondary  schools  and 
universities,  and  even  those  who  contrive  to  be  admitted  to 
university  examinations  are  usually  “  ploughed  ”  by  anti- 
Semitic  professors,1  who  show  a  surprising  leniency  to 
Christian  students.  Jewish  students  of  medicine  who  obtain 
their  doctorate  diplomas  at  foreign  universities  are  not 
allowed  to  practise  in  their  native  country,  which  is  noto¬ 
riously  short  of  qualified  doctors.  Jewish  children  are  not 
admitted  into  the  public  free  schools  until  accommodation 
has  been  found  for  all  Christian  children,  and  then  only  after 
the  payment  of  exorbitant  fees.  And  yet  the  Government 
interferes  in  the  management  of  the  private  schools  which 
the  Jewish  communities  must  needs  establish,  frequently 
disapproving  of  the  appointment  of  Jewish  teachers  and 
foisting  upon  them  Christian  teachers.  Denied  all  rights 
of  citizenship,  the  Jews,  with  their  reduced  earning  capacity, 
must  nevertheless  discharge  its  duties  :  they  must  pay  taxes 
and — foreigners  as  they  are  declared  to  be — they  must 
serve  in  the  army,  although  they  cannot  rise  to  the  rank 
even  of  a  mere  corporal.  But  more  degrading  than  all  these 
disabilities  is  the  gruesome  ceremonial  of  the  oath  which 
which  they  are  compelled  to  take  when  engaged  in  litigation 
with  Christians.  This  sacramentum  more  Judaico ,  which 
has  been  in  force  since  1844,  is  marked  by  the  fanaticism  of 

1  Professors  Jorga  and  Cuza  were  openly  accused  of  this  charge  by  the 
Liberal  Minister  of  Education,  M.  Haret,  in  the  Rumanian  Parliament 
(Report  of  the  “  Hilfsverein  der  deutsclien  Juden,”  1911,  p.  31). 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


163 


the  Middle  Ages  to  which  it  owes  its  origin  and  is  utterly 
repulsive  to  human  reason.  The  Jewish  litigant  is  wrapped 
in  a  shroud,  placed  into  a  coffin,  and  laid  out  in  the  syna¬ 
gogue,  where  the  Rabbi,  in  the  presence  of  a  mixed  con¬ 
gregation  of  indignant  Jews  and  scoffing  officials,  utters  a 
curse  threatening  all  manner  of  loathsome  diseases  against 
the  living  corpse  and  his  descendants  should  he  not  speak 
the  truth,  and  the  corpse  must  repeat  every  word  of  the 
malediction  or  lose  his  case.  This  barbarous  ceremonial  has 
on  several  occasions  been  declared  illegal  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Justice  and  the  Court  of  Cassation,  but  it  is  still 
enforced  by  local  courts  which  condemn  the  Jew  who  refuses 
to  submit  to  it.  Not  until  an  Act  of  Parliament  abolishes 
it  will  this  abominable  stain  be  removed  from  Rumania’s 
code  of  persecution. 

The  hostility  of  the  Government  has  a  contagious  and 
demoralizing  effect  upon  all  classes  and  sections  of  the 
population — judges  and  bishops,  politicians  and  pro¬ 
fessors,  students  and  peasants.  A  judge  in  a  Jassy  law- 
court  publicly  stigmatized  the  Jews  as  vagabonds  in  a 
case  affecting  a  respectable  Jewish  merchant  of  thirty 
years’  standing  ;  and  Bishop  Nifon  of  the  Lower  Danube, 
in  a  pastoral  screed  printed  in  the  Bucharest  press,  accused 
them  of  trying  to  seduce  the  common  people  from  their 
ancestral  religion.1  The  peasants  who  are  naturally  well 
disposed  towards  the  Jews,  and  of  whom  75  per  cent  are 
illiterate,  are  impregnated  with  Anti-Semitism  by  the 
village  teachers,  who  read  to  them  choice  extracts  from 
bigoted  newspapers  at  their  evening  gatherings.  The 
peasants  have  frequently  protested  against  the  banish¬ 
ment  of  the  Jews  from  the  villages,  but  the  Government 
is  merciless,  sparing  neither  reservists  nor  even  the  sick, 
who  can  be  driven  from  their  homes  at  twenty-four  hours’ 
notice.  Nor  does  it  matter  whether  the  Government  is 
composed  of  Conservatives  or  Liberals,  for  they  are  both 
agreed  in  this  policy  of  oppression  and  in  defying  the 
Treaty  to  which  their  country  owes  its  independence. 
The  result  of  this  policy,  which  aims  at  reducing  the  Jews 

1  Sec  the  Report  of  the  “  Hilfsverein,”  1911,  pp.  28,  29. 


164  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


to  economic  ruin,  has  been  a  constant  migration  to  lands 
of  liberty,  primarily  to  England  and  America.  From 
1899  to  1907,  according  to  the  Moniteur  Officiel,  some 
55,000  refugees  left  for  the  United  States  alone.  The 
high  tide  in  this  flow  of  emigration  was  reached  in  1902, 
when  the  American  Secretary  of  State,  John  Hay,  fearing 
that  economic  troubles  might  arise  from  the  sudden 
influx,  addressed  a  Note  to  the  Powers  signatory  to  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin,  urging  them  to  make  the  Rumanian 
Government  comply  with  its  pledge.  The  British  Govern¬ 
ment  seconded  the  Note,  but  the  other  Powers  were 
restrained  by  political  interests  from  enforcing  the  lesson 
of  humanity  they  had  vainly  tried  to  administer  a  quarter 
of  a  century  before,  and  Rumania  was  thus  left  unchecked 
in  its  career  of  persecution.  The  only  effect  of  America’s 
well-meant  intervention  was  that  the  Rumanian  Govern¬ 
ment  stopped  issuing  passports  to  Jews  so  that  the  com¬ 
plaints  about  their  invading  other  countries  might  cease, 
and  hundreds  who  had  already  sold  up  their  homes  and 
eagerly  looked  forward  to  reaching  a  peaceful  haven  in 
a  few  days  were  doomed  to  remain  in  their  cruel  father- 
land.  All  subsequent  attempts  to  bring  moral  suasion 
to  bear  upon  the  Government,  whether  from  within  or 
without,  have  proved  equally  futile.  The  most  recent 
occasion  has  been  in  connexion  with  the  cession  of  the  new 
Dobrudja  by  Bulgaria  to  Rumania  as  part  of  the  Balkan 
War  settlement,  a  territorial  change  that  naturally  aroused 
the  fear  that  the  free  Jewish  citizens  of  Silistria  and 
Baltshik  would  be  reduced  to  the  bondage  of  their  fellow- 
Jews  in  the  rest  of  Rumania.  The  Rumanian  Minister  in 
London  published  an  assurance  in  the  Jewish  Chronicle  1 
that  the  Jews  who  came  under  Rumanian  rule  would 
enjoy  the  same  civil  and  religious  equality  as  before, 
but  the  Bill  for  the  administration  of  the  new  Dobrudja, 
which  has  been  drafted  by  the  Rumanian  Government, 
offers  Bulgaria’s  former  subjects  only  a  modified  sort  of 
equality.  The  new  citizens  of  Rumania  will  be  able  to 
acquire  only  a  limited  amount  of  land,  and  only  in  the 

1  2 1st  March  1913. 


SUFFERINGS  IN  BONDAGE 


165 

annexed  territory  ;  and  they  will  be  deprived  of  Parlia¬ 
mentary  representation,  which  they  had  enjoyed  for  more 
than  thirty  years  under  Bulgarian  rule,  and  likewise  of 
local  self-government.1 

The  Jews  of  the  new  Dobrudja,  however,  may  con¬ 
sider  their  lot  as  fortunate  in  comparison  with  that  of 
their  brethren  in  the  older  part  of  the  kingdom,  for  these 
have  no  prospect  whatsoever  of  the  removal  of  their  dis¬ 
abilities.  The  15,000  Jewish  soldiers  who  took  part  in 
Rumania’s  bloodless  campaign  against  Bulgaria  were 
promised  enfranchisement  by  Ministers  of  the  late 
Government,2  but  there  is  no  indication  that  this  promise 
will  ever  be  realized,  and  hence  hundreds  of  disappointed 
Jewish  reservists,  with  their  families,  have  left  the 
country  in  disgust.  It  had,  indeed,  been  hoped  that  the 
provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  which  ensure  the  equal 
rights  of  religious  or  national  minorities,  would  be  re¬ 
affirmed  in  connexion  with  the  recognition  of  the  territorial 
changes  consequent  upon  the  Balkan  War.  But  the 
Powers,  as  announced  in  the  House  of  Commons,3  are  not 
agreed  upon  the  question  of  reaffirmation,  even  though 
this  was  to  be  applied  only  to  the  newly  annexed  terri¬ 
tories  ;  nor  could  one  have  expected  them  to  agree,  for 
how  can  Russia  read  Rumania  a  lesson  in  tolerance  ? 
Thus,  although  the  British  Government  has  chivalrously 
declared  that  it  will  recognize  the  annexations  only  of  the 
States  that  grant  equal  rights  to  religious  or  national 
minorities,  the  Powers  have  allowed  a  unique  opportunity 
to  slip  for  exacting  from  Rumania  the  redemption  of  the 
promise  to  which  she  owes  her  independence,  and  the 
bondage  of  the  Jews  in  Rumania  is  likely  to  continue  for 
years  a  blot  upon  the  civilization  of  Europe. 

1  The  Times,  13th  May  1914. 

2  Jewish  Chronicle,  1st  and  8th  August  1913. 

3  The  Times,  nth  June  1914. 


CHAPTER  III 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE 

The  safeguarding  of  Jewish  interests — Relations  with  parties  in 
England  and  America — Complex  conditions  on  the  Continent — 
Membership  of  Parliaments  and  of  Cabinets — The  diplomatic  and 
civil  service — Municipal  activity  and  civic  honours — Defending  the 
fatherland — Prominence  in  Socialism — Socialist  tendencies  in 
Russia — Woman  suffrage 

IN  the  lands  of  bondage  the  political  activity  of  the 
Jews  is  confined  to  the  struggle  for  equal  rights  ; 
in  the  lands  of  freedom  it  coincides  with  the  political 
activity  of  the  country  at  large.  An  intermediate  stage 
is  occupied  by  the  hundred  thousand  refugees  who  throw 
off  the  shackles  of  Russian  or  Rumanian  serfdom  every 
year  and,  settling  in  lands  of  liberty,  qualify  in  course  of 
time  for  the  rights  of  citizenship  with  the  aid  of  naturaliza¬ 
tion  societies.  The  Jewish  citizen,  who  has  known  what 
it  is  to  suffer  under  every  form  of  tyranny,  has  a  high 
appreciation  of  his  civic  status.  He  exercises  his  rights 
honestly  and  intelligently,  he  eagerly  participates  in  the 
municipal  and  political  life  around  him,  he  is  found 
represented  in  all  the  parties  of  his  country,  and  his 
sympathy  and  support  are  given  to  every  movement 
making  for  the  extension  of  human  liberty  or  the  promotion 
of  a  patriotic  ideal.  He  pursues  no  separatist  aims  except 
such  as  conform  with  the  principles  of  liberty  and  tolera¬ 
tion,  namely,  to  secure  the  unfettered  exercise  of  his 
religion  and  to  keep  open  the  portals  of  refuge  for  his 
brethren  still  pining  in  bondage.  The  Sunday  closing  of 
shops  and  workshops,  the  conditions  of  elementary 
education,  the  slaughter  of  animals  for  food,  naturalization, 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  167 


and  the  regulation  of  alien  immigration — such  are  the 
main  questions  in  regard  to  which  Jews  are  influenced 
less  by  party  considerations  than  by  religious  motives 
and  racial  solidarity.  To  safeguard  their  interests  in 
these  and  kindred  matters  the  Jews  in  England  are  repre¬ 
sented  by  the  Board  of  Deputies,  which  was  founded  in 
London  as  far  back  as  1760  ;  their  brethren  in  the  United 
States  by  the  American  Jewish  Committee,  which  was 
incorporated  in  New  York  in  1911  ;  and  those  in  British 
South  Africa  by  a  Board  of  Deputies  founded  in  1912 
and  situated  in  Johannesburg.  The  Jews  in  Austria  are 
represented  by  the  “  Oesterreichisch-Israelitische  Union/* 
founded  in  Vienna  in  1884,  whilst  their  brethren  in  Germany 
have  two  organizations  for  the  defence  of  their  civil  rights, 
the  “  Zentralverein  Deutscher  Staatsbiirger  jiidischen 
Glaubens,”  established  in  1893,  and  the  “  Verband  der 
deutschen  Juden,”  founded  in  1904,  the  membership  of 
the  former  being  made  up  of  individuals,  and  that  of  the 
latter  comprising  congregations  and  societies.  In  addition 
to  the  matters  over  which  the  representative  bodies  in 
the  English  -  speaking  countries  have  to  watch,  the 
organizations  in  Germany  are  also  striving  to  secure  the 
realization  of  the  complete  equality  granted  by  the  Con¬ 
stitution  by  the  removal  of  the  bar  against  the  appoint¬ 
ment  of  Jews  as  university  professors,  as  army  officers, 
and  as  judges.  The  activity  of  all  these  organizations 
is  thus  restricted  to  the  defence  of  the  civil  rights  and 
religious  interests  of  the  Jewish  community,  in  furtherance 
of  which  representations  are  made  when  necessary  to  the 
Government  authorities,  and  the  repulsion  of  attacks  and 
accusations,  but  it  in  no  wise  conflicts  with  the  interests 
of  the  country  at  large. 

Apart  from  questions  affecting  specifically  Jewish 
interests,  Jews  are  found  numerously  represented  in  all 
the  political  parties  and  movements  of  the  countries  in 
which  they  enjoy  civil  equality.  In  England  they  are 
almost  equally  divided  in  their  affections  between  the 
Conservative  and  the  Liberal  Party,  although  there  is  a 
traditional  attachment  to  the  latter  as  the  main  authors 


i68 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


of  their  political  emancipation  ;  but  the  balance  of  affection 
is  pretty  faithfully  reflected  by  the  present  proportion  of 
Jewish  members  in  the  two  great  parties  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  namely,  eight  on  the  Liberal  and  eight  on 
the  Conservative  side.  Similarly,  both  the  Democratic 
and  the  Republican  Parties  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
various  sections  of  each,  embrace  hosts  of  Jews  in  their 
ranks.  At  election  times  in  England  as  well  as  in  America 
one  occasionally  hears  of  “  the  Jewish  vote  ”  in  constitu¬ 
encies  with  a  large  Jewish  electorate,  as  though  this  were 
an  organized  force  ;  but  unless  there  is  some  important 
question  affecting  the  Jewish  community  at  stake,  Jews 
vote  solely  according  to  their  political  convictions,  even 
if  one  of  the  candidates  is  a  Jew,  and  take  an  active  share 
in  the  campaign  of  the  various  parties  to  which  they 
belong.  There  is,  however,  no  lack  of  endeavour  on  the 
part  of  Parliamentary  candidates  to  secure  the  suffrages 
of  the  Jewish  community,  and  it  is  no  infrequent  pheno¬ 
menon  for  opposing  candidates  in  a  Jewish  constituency 
to  make  the  very  same  promises  in  furtherance  of  their 
prospects.  Thus,  both  Republicans  and  Democrats  in  the 
United  States  advocated  the  termination  of  America’s 
commercial  treaty  with  Russia  in  reply  to  the  refusal 
of  the  Russian  Government  to  allow  the  free  entry  of 
American  Jews  into  its  dominions  ;  and  both  Liberals  and 
Conservatives  in  England  have  favoured  the  reduction 
of  the  naturalization  fee,  a  matter  specially  affecting 
Jewish  immigrants.  The  passage  of  the  Aliens  Act  in 
I9°5  by  the  Conservative  Government,  which  set  up  a 
barrier  against  the  admission  of  Jewish  refugees  at  a  time 
when  Russia  was  reeking  with  pogroms,  naturally  drove 
a  great  number  of  Jewish  voters  to  support  the  Liberal 
Party  in  the  memorable  election  of  1906  ;  but  with  the 
lapse  of  time  the  political  sympathies  of  the  Jews  again 
assumed  their  purely  party  tendency. 

Far  different  are  the  conditions  in  Central  and  Eastern 
Europe,  where  Jews  are  still  fighting  for  complete  equality 
and  are  subjected  to  various  degrees  of  disability.  It  is 
natural  that  the  Jews  in  Germany  should  throw  in  their 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  169 


lot  with  the  Radical  and  Socialist  parties,  as  only  from 
these  can  they  hope  to  obtain  any  support  in  their  struggle 
for  complete  emancipation  ;  but  another  important  motive 
is  the  innate  Jewish  desire  for  Constitutional  government 
upon  a  representative  and  democratic  basis,  a  stage  of 
political  development  from  which  Germany  is  still  far 
removed.  The  Jews  in  that  country  are  contributing  with 
their  money,  their  brains,  and  their  press  towards  the 
advance  of  Liberal  ideas  and  representative  government. 
They  have  supplied  the  Social  Democratic  Party  with  its 
present  leaders,  Hugo  Haase  and  Eduard  Bernstein,  as  they 
provided  it  with  its  intellectual  creator,  Karl  Marx,  and 
its  founder,  Ferdinand  Lassalle  ;  and  it  was  likewise  a  Jew, 
Professor  Jacob  Riesser  (a  kinsman  of  the  Gabriel  Riesser 
who  distinguished  himself  in  the  fight  for  Jewish  emancipa¬ 
tion  fifty  years  ago)  who  founded  the  Hansa  Bund  in  1909 
to  protect  the  interests  of  trade,  commerce,  and  manu¬ 
facture  against  the  aggression  of  the  agrarian  class,  a 
league  that  forms  a  powerful  element  on  the  side  of  liberty 
and  equality,  numbering  close  upon  half  a  million  members. 
It  is  natural  also  that  the  Jews  in  Russia,  who,  despite 
their  severe  oppression,  have  the  right  to  elect  members  of 
the  Duma  and  to  be  elected  themselves,  should  confine  their 
support  to  the  “  Cadets  ”  (or  Constitutional  Democrats), 
from  whom  alone  they  can  hope  for  any  sympathy — 
ineffective  though  it  be  in  their  struggle  for  freedom  ; 
but  the  local  authorities  generally  contrive  by  intimida¬ 
tion  and  a  cunning  manipulation  of  the  voters’  list  to 
prevent  Jews  who  even  form  a  majority  of  the  population 
in  a  town  from  securing  the  election  of  the  Jewish  candidate 
or  of  a  non- Jewish  candidate  of  liberal  views.  In  Austria, 
where  the  play  of  political  life  largely  resolves  itself  into 
the  struggle  of  a  dozen  nationalities  for  autonomy  against 
the  centralist  tendency  of  the  Government,  and  where  there 
is  neither  the  division  into  two  great  parties  as  in  England 
and  America,  nor  the  conflict  between  democracy  and 
privilege  as  in  Germany,  the  liberalism  of  the  Jews  ex¬ 
presses  itself  in  the  support  of  the  various  nationalist 
parties,  such  as  Czechs,  Poles,  and  Rumanians,  accord- 


170  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

ing  to  their  geographical  incidence,  whose  cause  they 
espouse  with  an  ardour  that  could  scarce  be  equalled  if 
they  were  autochthonous  and  pure-blooded  members  of  the 
nationality  they  adopt.  This  policy  of  identification  with 
the  local  political  interests  of  the  dominant  nationality, 
which  is  sedulously  fostered  by  the  bulk  of  the  Jews  in 
the  upper  and  middle  classes,  has  the  effect  of  pitting  the 
Jewish  members  of  one  ethnic  group  against  their  brethren 
in  another  ethnic  group  as  though  they  had  really  nothing 
in  common  between  them.  But  a  more  serious  effect  is 
that  the  economic  and  cultural  interests  of  the  Jewish 
masses  in  Galicia,  who  can  no  more  be  reckoned  to  the 
Polish  than  to  the  Ruthenian  nationality,  are  made  to 
suffer  through  the  warring  jealousies  of  these  nationalities, 
and  that  too  with  the  help  of  Jewish  politicians  who  refuse 
to  recognize  the  distinguishing  characteristics  and  separate 
claims  of  their  own  people  and  convert  them  into  a  help¬ 
less  appendage  of  the  Polish  electorate.  The  inconsequence 
of  this  position  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  a  Jew  who  leaves 
Galicia  for  Bohemia  is  converted  there  into  a  Czech,  and 
if  he  then  removes  to  Croatia  he  must  identify  himself 
with  the  Croats.  This  policy  has  been  combated  for  the 
last  fifteen  years  by  a  minority  of  the  Jewish  people  in 
Austria,  who  claim  recognition  as  a  separate  nationality, 
and  who  succeeded  in  being  represented  in  the  Reichsrat 
of  1906  by  four  Jewish  deputies,  who  formed  a  Jewish 
“  Club  ”  on  the  same  basis  as  the  parliamentary  “  clubs  ” 
of  other  nationalities.  The  number  of  Jewish  nationalists 
in  the  Austrian  Reichsrat  has  since  declined  to  one,  but  the 
problem  of  Jewish  national  politics  continues  to  form  a 
perplexing  element  in  the  Austrian  mosaic  of  nationalities, 
and  will  remain  acute  as  long  as  the  J  ewish  masses  of  Galicia 
are  oppressed  by  the  Polish  bureaucracy.  There  is  no 
similar  problem  in  Hungary,  where  Jews  are  content  and 
even  eager  to  sink  their  racial  individuality  and  to  Magyarize 
themselves  beyond  recognition.  Nor,  strangely  enough,  is 
there  any  parallel  in  that  other  great  mosaic  of  nationalities, 
the  Ottoman  Empire,  where,  although  the  Jews  played  an 
active  part  in  inaugurating  the  present  constitutional  era, 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  171 


they  set  up  no  claims  for  the  separate  representation  of 
their  people  in  the  Imperial  Parliament.  The  leading 
Jewish  politicians  in  Turkey  are  members  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  of  Union  and  Progress,  whose  avowed  policy  from 
the  start  was  the  Turkification  of  the  numerous  nationalities 
owing  homage  to  the  Sultan  ;  but  this  fact  has  in  nowise 
restrained  the  journalists  of  Western  Europe  from  stigmatiz¬ 
ing  the  policy  of  the  Young  Turks  as  one  directed  mainly 
in  the  interest  of  Jewry  and  visiting  their  errors  and  failures 
upon  the  innocent  head  of  Israel.  It  is  true  that  the 
Donmeh  of  Salonica  played  an  important  part  in  guiding 
the  policy  of  the  Committee  of  Union  and  Progress,  but 
they  are  not  Jews  :  they  are  Moslem  sectarians  descended 
from  Jews  who  adopted  Islam  in  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century ;  and  modern  Jewry  is  no  more 
responsible  for  the  political  actions  of  these  Mohammedans 
than  for  the  doings  of  the  descendants  of  Jewish  converts 
to  Christianity  in  other  countries. 

The  active  participation  of  the  Jews  in  political  life  has 
naturally  procured  them  a  certain  measure  of  parliamentary 
distinction,  which  in  several  countries  far  exceeds  their 
ratio  to  the  population.  They  are  found  as  members  of 
the  legislative  assemblies  in  every  land  in  which  they  enjoy 
civil  equality,  with  the  exception  of  the  few  countries,  such 
as  Spain  and  Norway,  in  which  their  numbers  are  almost 
insignificant.  They  sit  in  the  parliaments  of  London 
and  Washington,  of  Paris  and  Berlin,  Vienna  and  St. 
Petersburg,  Brussels  and  Amsterdam,  Rome,  Constantinople, 
and  even  Sofia,  and  in  most  of  the  legislative  assemblies 
of  the  British  Colonies  and  the  provincial  Diets  of  Germany 
and  Austria.  They  are  elected  for  the  most  part  by  non- 
Jewish  votes,  and  so  scrupulously  do  they  confine  them¬ 
selves  to  the  interests  of  their  electorates  that  only  rarely 
can  they  be  moved  to  raise  their  voices  on  behalf  of  their 
oppressed  co-religionists  and  invoke  the  good  offices  of 
their  respective  Governments.  The  Jewish  members  of 
the  Duma  naturally  champion  the  cause  of  their  persecuted 
brethren  :  they  would  be  less  than  human  if  they  kept 
silent.  The  Jewish  members  of  the  German  Reichstag 


1J2 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


periodically  plead  for  the  abolition  of  the  remaining  re¬ 
strictions,  and  their  co-religionists  in  the  Austrian  Reichsrat, 
provided  they  be  not  in  close  a  dance  with  local  national¬ 
ist  parties,  defend  the  interests  i  f  their  harassed  brethren 
in  Galicia.  In  the  British  House  of  Commons  and  the 
American  House  of  Representatives  a  Jewish  member  also 
occasionally  raises  his  voice  against  some  wrong  done  to 
his  people,  but  such  occasions  are  few  in  comparison  with 
former  times.  For  the  most  part  Jewish  members  of  parlia¬ 
ment  in  Western  countries  show  a  singular  timidity  in 
championing  the  cause  of  their  own  kith  and  kin,  although 
they  can  display  a  passionate  eloquence  in  denouncing 
atrocities  upon  the  negroes  of  the  Congo  ;  and  it  is  thus 
left  for  the  special  J ewish  organizations,  which  cannot  gain 
a  hearing  in  Parliament,  to  take  the  necessary  action. 
But  although  Jewish  deputies  generally  refrain  from  de¬ 
fending  Jewish  interests,  non- Jewish  critics  raise  a  periodical 
alarm  about  the  growth  of  the  political  influence  of  J  ewry 
being  a  menace  to  the  country.  Individual  Jews  may 
acquire  political  influence,  despite  their  being  Jews  :  their 
community,  however,  reaps  little  benefit  from  it,  and  is 
even  exposed  to  the  envy  and  hostility  which  it  arouses. 

The  political  activity  of  the  Jews  is  by  no  means  limited 
to  ordinary  membership  of  the  elective  chambers,  for  they 
have  also  been  elevated  to  the  hereditary  chambers  in 
London,  Vienna,  and  Budapest,  and  they  sit  in  the  senates 
of  Washington,  Rome,  and  Constantinople.  More  im¬ 
portant  still,  they  have  sat  and  sit  in  all  the  leading  Cabinets 
of  Europe  and  America,  and  have  filled  the  highest  positions 
offered  by  a  political  career.  They  have  provided  Italy 
with  a  Prime  Minister,  Signor  Luigi  Luzzatti  (1910),  who 
previously  served  as  Minister  of  Finance  on  six  occasions, 
with  another  Minister  of  Finance  (Leone  Wollemborg, 
1900-03),  with  a  Minister  of  War  (General  Ottolenghi, 
1902-03),  an  Under-Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs  (Isaac 
Artom,  1870-76,  the  friend  and  private  secretary  of  Cavour), 
and  the  present  president  of  the  Council  of  State,  Signor 
Malvano,  who  previously  acted  as  General  Secretary  of 
the  Foreign  Office  under  several  Cabinets  and  virtually 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  173 


conducted  Italy’s  foreign  policy.  They  have  provided 
France  with  six  Ministers  during  the  last  sixty-five  years  : 
Adolphe  Cremieux,  Minister  of  Justice  in  1848,  and  member 
of  the  Government  of  National  Defence  in  1870  ;  Michel 
Goudchaux,  Minister  of  Finance  in  1848,  and  Achille  Fould 
in  the  same  office  under  Napoleon  III ;  Edouard  Millaud, 
Minister  of  Public  Works  in  the  Cabinets  of  Freycinet  and 
Goblet,  in  1886-87  ;  David  Raynal,  Minister  of  Public 
Works  in  1881,  and  of  the  Interior  in  1893-94  ;  and  Lucien 
Klotz,  Minister  of  Finance  in  1912,  and  Minister  of  the 
Interior  in  1913.  They  have  provided  England  with  an 
Under-Secretary  for  the  Colonies  (Baron  Henry  de  Worms, 
1888-92,  afterwards  Lord  Pirbright),  and  a  Deputy- 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  (Sir  Julian  Goldsmid, 
1894),  whilst  in  Mr.  Asquith’s  present  Administration  they 
were  at  one  and  the  same  time  represented  by  the  Post¬ 
master-General  (Mr.  Herbert  Samuel,1  formerly  Under¬ 
secretary  for  Home  Affairs  and  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy 
of  Lancaster),  the  Attorney-General  (Sir  Rufus  Isaacs), 
and  the  Under-Secretary  for  India  (Mr.  Edwin  Montagu  2) — 
a  record  combination  of  Jewish  statesmen  in  a  single 
Government.  The  conferment  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice¬ 
ship  upon  Sir  Rufus  Isaacs 3  represents  the  highest  dis¬ 
tinction  yet  attained  by  an  English  Jew.  Jews  have  also 
furnished  Austria  and  the  United  States  with  Ministers  of 
Commerce  (Baron  Simon  von  Winterstein  in  the  former 
in  1867,  and  Oscar  Straus  in  the  latter  in  1906-09),  Holland 
with  a  Minister  of  Justice  (M.  H.  Godefroy,  i860),  Denmark 
with  a  Minister  of  Finance  (Eduard  Brandes,  1911),  and 
Hungary  with  a  Political  Secretary  of  State  at  the  Ministry 
of  Justice  (Dr.  Badass,  1913).  They  have  likewise  pro¬ 
vided  the  British  Colonies  with  several  statesmen  of  the 
highest  rank  :  Sir  Julius  Vogel  as  Prime  Minister  of  New 
Zealand  (1873),  V.  L.  Solomon  as  Prime  Minister  of  South 
Australia  (1899),  Henry  Emanuel  Cohen  as  Minister  of 
Justice  in  New  South  Wales  (1883-85),  Isaac  Alfred  Isaacs 
as  Attorney-General  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia, 

1  Now  Pres.,  Local  Govt.  Board. 

2  Now  Financial  Sec.  to  Treasury.  3  Now  Lord  Reading. 

'  / 


174 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Simeon  J  acobs  as  Attorney-General  in  Cape  Colony  (i  874-82) , 
and  Sir  Nathaniel  Nathan  as  Attorney-General  in  Trinidad 
(1898).  In  addition  to  these  leading  positions  Jews  have 
occupied  and  occupy  to-day  numerous  subsidiary  offices 
in  the  Governments  mentioned  above,  as  many  as  fifty 
being  said  to  be  in  the  special  entourage  of  the  Ministers 
of  the  French  Government.1  The  only  important  country, 
apart  from  Russia,  in  which  Jews  have  not  attained  any 
ministerial  position  is  Germany,2  owing  to  the  Anti- 
Semitism  of  the  Government,  but  the  political  annals  of 
that  country  record  the  prominent  part  played  by  Eduard 
Lasker  and  Ludwig  Bamberger  in  forming  and  leading  the 
National  Liberal  party  until  Bismarck’s  adoption  of  a 
Protectionist  policy  forced  them  to  abandon  it. 

The  diplomatic  and  various  branches  of  the  civil 
service  in  many  countries  have  also  contained  and  contain 
at  present  conforming  members  of  the  Jewish  faith.  The 
American  Commonwealth  has  been  thrice  represented  by 
Mr.  Oscar  Straus  as  Ambassador  in  Constantinople  (1887, 
1897-1900,  1909-10),  and  is  now  represented  by  Mr.  Henry 
Morgenthau  in  that  capital,  whilst  Italy,  which  had  a 
Jewish  Minister  Plenipotentiary  in  Denmark  in  1865 
(Isaac  Artom),  is  now  represented  at  the  Court  of  Copen¬ 
hagen  by  Count  di  Carubio.  England  has  never  had  a 
Jewish  Ambassador,  but  the  governorship  of  its  colonial 
possessions,  Gold  Coast,  Hong-Kong,  and  Natal,  has  been 
held  by  Sir  Matthew  Nathan,  and  New  South  Wales  has 
been  represented  both  by  Sir  Saul  Samuel  and  Sir  Julian 
Salomons  as  Agent-General  in  London.  Among  Jews 
who  have  served  on  the  bench  are  Meyer  Sulzberger  in 
the  United  States;  Henry  Cohen,  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  South  Wales  (1896-1912);  Simeon  Jacobs, 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 

1  The  Jew  in  France,  by  Eugene  Tavernier,  in  The  Nineteenth  Century, 
February  1913. 

2  Dr.  Bernhard  Dernburg,  Germany’s  Colonial  Secretary  in  1907-10, 
was  brought  up  in  the  Christian  faith.  For  a  similar  reason  Benjamin 
Disraeli  is  not  included  above,  nor  Kiamil  Pasha,  several  times  Grand 
Vizier  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  who  was  born  of  Jewish  parents,  but  was 
brought  up  from  early  childhood  in  the  Mohammedan  faith. 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  175 


(1882);  Sir  Nathaniel  Nathan,  Senior  Puisne  Judge  in 
Trinidad  (1893) ;  Isaac  Alfred  Isaacs,  at  present  Justice 
of  the  High  Court  of  Australia ;  whilst  Mr.  Arthur  Cohen 
held  until  recently  the  distinguished  office  of  Judge  of  the 
Cinque  Ports.  To  attempt  anything  like  an  adequate 
enumeration  of  Jews  filling  important  Government  positions 
in  England,  America,  France,  Italy,  and  other  countries, 
would  involve  the  publication  of  a  wearisome  list  of  names. 

Municipal  life  has  also  attracted  a  goodly  portion  of 
the  activity  of  Jews  in  countries  in  which  it  is  open  to 
them,  and  they  are  frequently  found  in  opposite  camps,1 
except  where,  as  in  many  Continental  cities,  Anti-Semitism 
plays  a  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  municipality.  Jews 
have  occupied  the  Lord  Mayoralty  of  London  on  five 
occasions  during  the  last  sixty  years,  they  have  served 
as  Chief  Magistrates  of  a  host  of  other  cities  in  the  United 
Kingdom  (Liverpool,  Belfast,  Bradford,  Leicester,  Nor¬ 
wich,  etc.)  and  the  British  Colonies,  and  they  have  fre¬ 
quently  acted  as  Sheriffs  and  Lord  Lieutenants  of  counties. 
There  are  also  many  Jews  who  sit  on  the  magisterial 
bench  in  English  countries.  On  the  Continent  the 
most  prominent  successes  in  municipal  life  have  been 
achieved  by  Signor  Ernesto  Nathan,  Mayor  of  Rome  from 
1911  to  1913,  and  by  Dr.  Franz  Heltai,  who  was  elected, 
in  February  1913,  Chief  Burgomaster  of  Budapest,  and 
died  in  office  a  few  months  later.  Honours  and  distinc¬ 
tions,  hereditary  and  otherwise,  have  been  conferred 
upon  Jews  by  the  Government  or  monarch  of  their  country 
in  recognition  of  their  services  to  the  State  or  of  their 
achievements  in  public  life  or  in  their  various  professions. 
The  Rothschild  family  was  the  first  to  be  ennobled  in 
modern  Europe  by  the  Crown  of  Austria  (1822),  and 
many  are  the  Jewish  barons  created  in  modern  countries 
during  the  last  thirty  years.  In  England  there  are  now 
4  Jewish  peers,  19  baronets,  14  knights,  12  companions 
of  various  orders,  and  5  privy  councillors.  The  heraldic 
arms  of  these  Jewish  lords  and  barons,  with  their  quaint 

1  The  London  County  Council  (1913)  contains  10  Jews — 5  Progressives 
and  5  Moderates. 


176  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


fusion  of  Hebrew  mottoes  with  British  designs,  are  a 
significant  phenomenon  in  the  latter-day  evolution  of 
Jewry.  In  France  and  Germany,  in  Holland  and  Italy, 
in  Austria-Hungary  and  Turkey,  and  even  in  Russia  the 
children  of  Israel  have  received  many  of  the  honours  and 
decorations  bestowed  by  the  State  for  personal  distinction. 

The  popular  test  of  patriotism — the  defence  of  the 
fatherland — has  been  discharged  in  abundant  measure  by 
the  Jews  in  all  the  lands  in  which  they  have  been  allowed 
to  bear  arms.  During  the  last  hundred  years  they  have 
fought  on  all  the  battlefields  not  merely  of  Europe  but 
of  the  world  ;  they  have  shed  their  blood  in  wars  of 
liberation  and  wars  of  conquest ;  and  their  heroism  has 
received  repeated  recognition  in  the  bestowal  of  medals 
and  orders.  From  seven  to  eight  thousand  Jews  fought 
in  both  armies  in  the  American  Civil  War,  comprising  9 
generals,  18  colonels,  8  lieutenant-colonels,  40  majors,  205 
captains,  325  lieutenants,  and  25  surgeons.  In  the  Franco- 
German  War  there  were  a  few  hundred  Jews  on  the  French 
and  4703  on  the  German  side,  and  in  the  Spanish- American 
War  (1898)  the  Jewish  contingent  in  the  American  forces 
comprised  32  officers  and  2450  men  in  the  army,  and  27 
officers  and  42  men  in  the  navy.  A  thousand  Jewish 
soldiers  took  part  in  the  South  African  War  of  1900,  and 
40,000  in  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  whilst  the  heroic  part 
they  have  played  in  the  Turco- Italian  1  and  the  Balkan 
Wars  are  too  recent  to  require  mention  here.  Jewish 
soldiers  have  attained  high  rank,  even  the  highest,  in 
several  armies  in  which  promotion  is  open  to  them.  In 
France  they  comprise  8  generals,  14  colonels,  21  lieutenant- 
colonels,  68  majors,  and  107  captains; 2  and  in  Austria  6 
generals — one  a  lieutenant  field-marshal — 17  colonels,  15 
lieutenant-colonels,  48  majors,  and  21 1  captains  and 
officers  of  lower  rank.3  Of  these  Jewish  soldiers  in  Austria 

1  See  the  article,  “  Die  Juden  und  der  turkisch-italienische  Krieg,” 
by  Professor  E.  Loevinson  in  Ost  und  West,  June  1912. 

2  Article,  “  The  Jew  in  France,”  in  Nineteenth  Century,  February  1913. 

3  A  remarkable  biographical  work  in  two  volumes,  Oesterreich-Ungcirns 
Juden  in  dev  Armee,  by  Moritz  Friihling  (Vienna,  1913),  gives  a  detailed 
account  of  the  careers  of  all  Jews  in  the  Austro-Hungarian  army. 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  1 77 


26  have  received  for  special  bravery  before  the  enemy 
the  Order  of  the  Iron  Crown  with  the  war  decoration,  one 
of  the  highest  and  rarely  awarded  distinctions  in  the 
Austrian  army.  The  Jews  of  Italy  are  also  well  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  officers’  corps  of  the  army,  and  one  of  them, 
General  Ottolenghi,  even  once  held  the  portfolio  of  the 
War  Minister.  The  Jews  in  the  British  Army  are  com¬ 
paratively  fewer  than  their  co-religionists  in  the  armies  of 
Continental  countries  where  conscription  prevails,  but  they 
provide  a  contingent  equal  to  their  ratio  of  the  population 
and  comprise  several  officers  in  the  regular  army  (1  colonel, 
1  lieutenant-colonel,  5  majors,  19  captains,  etc.),  besides  a 
great  number  of  commissions  in  the  Territorial  forces. 

Apart  from  their  general  participation  in  political  life 
Jews  have  also  been  associated  in  a  conspicuous  degree 
with  the  advancement  of  the  Socialist  movement.  Karl 
Marx,  who  laid  down  the  scientific  foundations  of  Socialism, 
was  of  Jewish  birth,  but  was  brought  up  from  childhood 
in  the  Christian  faith  :  to  him  Judaism  was  a  religion 
bound  up  with  Capitalism.  His  doctrines  have  found  a 
considerable  measure  of  Jewish  adhesion,  beyond  their 
native  soil,  only  in  those  countries,  such  as  Austria  and 
Russia,  in  which  there  is  a  medley  of  parties  struggling 
against  privilege  or  absolutism,  whereas  the  amount  of 
Jewish  support  in  countries  with  two  main  constitutional 
parties,  as  in  England  and  America,  is  relatively  small 
and  unimportant.  The  founder  of  the  German  Social 
Democratic  Party  was  the  Jew  Ferdinand  Lassalle,  and 
most  of  its  leaders  down  to  the  present  day  have  been 
drawn  from  Jewish  ranks,  one  of  the  most  popular  having 
been  the  late  Paul  Singer,  whose  body,  a  few  years  ago, 
was  followed  to  the  grave  through  the  streets  of  Berlin 
by  a  hundred  thousand  admirers.  The  present  head 
of  the  German  Socialists  is  also  a  Jew,  Hugo  Haase,  and 
so  is  the  leader  of  the  Revisionist  movement,  Eduard 
Bernstein,  whilst  most  of  the  able  exponents  of  Revisionism 
are  believed  to  have  been  inspired  by  the  teaching  of 
Professor  Hermann  Cohen,  who  for  many  years  expounded 
a  liberal  philosophy  at  the  Marburg  University.  The  head 
12 


178  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


of  Social  Democracy  in  Austria  is  also  a  Jew,  Dr.  Victor 
Adler ;  whilst  the  Revolutionary  Syndicalism  that  has 
recently  grown  up  in  France  is  attributed  by  some  to  the 
influence  of  the  philosophy  of  Professor  Henri  Bergson. 
There  is  nothing  Jewish,  however,  among  the  great 
majority  of  these  advocates  of  Socialism  except  the 
accident  of  birth  :  they  have  almost  without  exception 
abandoned  the  synagogue  and  declared  themselves  free¬ 
thinkers.  Champions  of  a  cause  that  knows  no  national 
distinctions,  they  have  cut  themselves  adrift  from  their 
own  people,  and  if  occasionally  they  protest  against  the 
sufferings  of  Israel  they  do  so  not  out  of  racial  sympathy 
but  from  general  humanitarian  motives. 

In  all  other  countries  Socialism  has  simply  attracted 
individual  Jews,  but  in  Russia  it  has  won  the  adhesion  of  the 
masses,  thanks  to  the  pressure  of  economic  misery  and  legal 
persecution.  In  1897  was  founded  the  Bund,  the  popular 
designation  of  the  Allgemeiner  Judischer  Arbeiter  Bund  in 
Russland ,  Polen  und  Littauen,  which  feverishly  propagated 
Socialistic  ideas  by  a  ceaseless  output  of  literature  among 
the  working-classes  of  the  Pale  and  succeeded  in  enrolling 
30,000  organized  members  by  1905.  Established  as  a  speci¬ 
fically  Jewish  organization,  the  Bund  at  first  only  aimed  at 
the  economic  betterment  of  the  Jewish  artisan  population, 
whose  very  existence  had  hitherto  been  denied  by  the  enemies 
of  J  ewry  ;  but  upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Russian  Revolution 
in  1905  the  Bund  expanded  its  programme  by  demanding 
national  cultural  autonomy  for  the  Jews.  The  period  of 
terror  ushered  in  by  the  Revolution  gave  birth  to  several 
new  Socialist  organizations  among  the  proletariat  of  the 
Pale,  which  were  animated  by  a  keener  sense  of  the  national 
claims  of  Jewry  than  the  Bund  :  they  all  agreed  that  the 
Jewish  question  could  only  be  solved  in  a  Jewish  territory, 
yet  radically  and  even  bitterly  differed  as  to  the  process  of 
the  solution.1  The  Zionist  Socialist  Labour  Party,  desig¬ 
nated  in  brief  “  S.S.”  2  (who  should  more  correctly  be  termed 

1  See  “  Der  judische  Socialismus  und  seine  Stromungen,”  by  Maxim 
Anin  in  the  Judischer  Almanack,  5670  (Judischer  Verlag,  Berlin,  1910). 

2  Used,  for  the  sake  of  alliteration,  instead  of  "Z.S.  ” 


POLITICAL  ACTIVITY  AND  STATE  SERVICE  179 


Socialist  Terri torialists),  declared  that  the  progressive  de¬ 
velopment  of  Jewry  in  the  diaspora  was  impossible,  and 
demanded  autonomy  in  a  territory  anywhere  ;  the  Jewish 
Socialist  Labour  Party,  styled  ‘  ‘  Sarp  ’  ’  (Sozialistische  Arbeiter 
Partei)  or  “  Seimisten  ”  (Russ., “  Seim  ”  =  Diet),  demanded 
national  autonomy  in  the  Pale  ;  whilst  the  “  Poalei  Zion  ” 
(Heb.,  Workers  of  Zion),  a  branch  of  the  Zionist  Organiza¬ 
tion,  were  content  to  aim  at  the  realization  of  a  Socialist 
regime  in  Palestine.  All  these  Communist  groups,  stubbornly 
affirming  that  their  particular  specific  for  the  salvation  of 
Jewry  was  an  unconditional  historic  necessity,  conducted  a 
wordy  warfare  over  theories  with  one  another  in  the  days 
when  the  pogrom-demons  swept  through  the  Pale,  but 
joined  hands  in  armed  self-defence  when  their  own  lives 
were  threatened  and  played  a  valiant  though  fruitless  part 
in  the  revolutionary  struggle.1  The  succeeding  years, 
while  finding  each  of  these  parties  far  from  its  goal,  have 
softened  the  differences  that  once  separated  them  and  united 
them  in  a  common  effort  to  secure  the  recognition  of  a  J  ewish 
national  section  in  the  International,  in  face  of  the  oppo¬ 
sition  of  those  fellow- Jews  who  have  merged  their  identity 
into  some  other  national  contingent  of  Social  Democrats — 
French,  German,  Belgian,  Czech,  and  so  forth. 

The  most  modern  of  political  movements,  the  cause  of 
Woman  Suffrage,  has  also  been  espoused  in  its  various  phases, 
pacific  and  militant,  by  a  section  of  Jewry,  and  has  with¬ 
drawn  many  a  mother  in  Israel  from  the  seclusion  of  her 
home  into  the  storm  and  strife  of  public  meetings.  Mr. 
Israel  Zangwill  has  actively  identified  himself  with  the 
movement  in  England,  where  also  a  special  Jewish  league, 
with  the  benison  of  ministers,  has  been  formed  for  its 
furtherance.  The  movement  in  Germany,  which  pursues 
a  far  more  placid  course  than  in  England,  is  supported  by 
the  “Jiidischer  Frauenbund,”  an  organization  primarily 
established  for  social  and  philanthropic  work,  but  now  also 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  emancipation  of  woman. 

1  A  graphic  sketch  of  this  turbulent  period  of  recent  history  will  be 
found  in  Zangwill’s  Ghetto  Comedies ,  under  the  title  “  Samooborona.” 


BOOK  IV 


THE  ECONOMIC  ASPECT 

INTRODUCTION 

Participation  in  all  branches  of  economic  activity — Poverty  and 
migration 

THE  Jews,  who,  in  ancient  times,  were  mainly 
occupied  in  agriculture,  and  in  the  Middle  Ages 
in  trade,  are  now  represented  in  every  sphere 
of  economic  activity.  In  most  countries  they  still  show 
a  predilection  for  various  forms  of  commerce,  owing 
partly  to  historic  and  social  influences,  but  they  have 
devoted  themselves  in  increasing  numbers  during  the 
last  fifty  years  to  all  branches  of  industry,  to  manu¬ 
factures  and  handicrafts  as  well  as  mining,  whilst 
their  preponderance  in  the  business  world,  in  which 
they  have  manifested  special  aptitudes,  is  tending  to 
diminish.  Equally  significant  of  the  transition  from 
mediaeval  conditions  is  the  return  to  the  land,  from  which 
Jews  had  been  excluded  for  the  most  part  since  their  dis¬ 
persion.  Despite  their  urbanization  for  so  many  centuries 
they  have,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  successfully  engaged 
in  farming  and  forestry  in  various  regions,  notably  in 
their  ancestral  country.  But  the  most  characteristic  feature 
of  the  economic  activity  of  modern  Jewry  is  the  growing 
number  of  those  engaged  in  the  liberal  professions  and  public 
service. 

The  material  position  of  the  great  majority  of  Jewry 
defies  description.  Only  a  small  portion  of  those  settled 
in  Western  countries  enjoy  the  wealth  that  is  commonly 
attributed  to  the  entire  race ;  but  in  the  regions  containing 

180 


INTRODUCTION 


181 


more  than  two-thirds  of  the  world’s  Jewry,  Eastern  Europe, 
Western  Asia,  and  Northern  Africa,  there  is  a  depressing 
spectacle  of  widespread  poverty  and  misery.  Goaded  by 
oppression  and  economic  distress  the  Jews  of  Eastern 
Europe  are  fleeing  in  hundreds  of  thousands  to  the  lands  of 
the  West,  especially  America  and  England,  bringing  with 
them  the  industries  in  which  they  were  engaged  at  home. 
They  migrate  not  singly  but  in  families,  almost  in  com¬ 
munities,  braving  the  countless  hardships  of  the  voyage  to 
the  once-vaunted  lands  of  liberty,  whose  portals  they  now 
find  guarded  by  inquisitorial  janitors.  But,  despite  their 
hardships  and  the  culminating  risk  of  rejection,  they  will 
continue  to  flock  to  these  countries  as  long  as  they  can  find 
no  peace  nor  make  a  living  in  their  native  land. 


CHAPTER  I 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 

Historic  and  religious  factors — Pioneers  of  commerce — Com¬ 
mercial  activity  in  various  lands- — Activity  in  finance — Partici¬ 
pation  in  industries — Factories  and  handicrafts  in  Russia — Female 
and  child  labour — Industrial  conditions  in  England  and  America — 
Agricultural  activity  in  Russia  and  in  Central  Europe — Advance  of 
agriculture  in  America — Colonization  in  Palestine — -The  liberal 
professions  and  public  service 

DISPERSED  throughout  all  the  lands  of  the 
earth  the  Jews  are  found  among  the  followers 
of  nearly  every  occupation,  but  they  show  a 
particular  predilection  and  capacity  for  certain  branches 
of  economic  activity  which  can  be  traced  to  definite 
factors.  They  are  represented  in  the  largest  numbers 
in  commercial  pursuits  and  domestic  industries  owing 
partly  to  historic  influences  and  partly  to  religious 
requirements.  From  the  downfall  of  Judaea  in  the 
first  century  until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  Jews,  who  had  for  centuries  lived  by  tending 
their  flocks  and  tilling  their  soil,  were,  with  insignificant 
exceptions,  strictly  barred  from  the  land,  which  they  could 
neither  buy,  rent,  nor  cultivate.  They  were  thus  early 
forced  to  choose  between  trading  and  manual  labour. 
Thanks  to  their  dispersion  in  the  various  countries  around 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  feeling  of  racial  solidarity  that 
united  them  they  had  exceptional  facilities  for  engaging  in 
international  trade  ;  whilst  the  adoption  of  handicrafts  was 
fostered  by  the  example  of  the  Rabbis  themselves,  who  made 
it  a  rule  of  life  to  combine  the  study  of  the  Torah  with  the 
pursuit  of  a  secular  calling.1  The  legislation  of  the  Middle 

1  Mishna,  Pirke  Aboth,  ii.  ;  Graetz,  History  of  the  Jews,  vol.  ii.  p.  471. 

182 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY  183 


Ages,  which  confined  the  Jews  to  special  quarters,  excluded 
them  from  the  trade  guilds,  and  allowed  them  to  deal  only 
in  money  and  merchandise,  inevitably  forced  the  great 
majority  into  commerce,  in  which,  aided  by  wits  sharpened 
by  ages  of  Talmudical  dialectics  and  by  the  very  struggle 
for  existence  itself,  they  developed  special  capacities  and 
achieved  considerable  success.  The  influence  of  the  reli¬ 
gious  factor  in  determining  the  choice  of  occupation  is  seen 
in  its  earliest  and  simplest  form  in  the  callings  necessitated 
by  the  requirements  of  the  community,  namely,  those  of 
the  baker,  the  butcher,  and  the  dairyman,  who  had  to  pro¬ 
vide  bread,  meat,  and  milk  conforming  with  the  strict 
regulations  of  the  Jewish  law,  as  well  as  those  of  the  func¬ 
tionaries  attached  to  the  synagogue,  the  Rabbi,  precentor, 
teacher,  and  beadle  ;  but  the  effect  of  this  influence  upon  the 
masses  of  the  population  did  not  show  itself  prominently 
until  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  their 
preferring  domestic  industries  to  factory  labour,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  observe  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbaths  and  festivals 
undisturbed.  The  abolition  of  the  Ghetto  and  the  remo  val 
of  mediaeval  restrictions  resulted  in  an  appreciable  diminu¬ 
tion  of  the  numbers  devoted  to  commerce  and  an  increase  of 
those  engaged  in  industries  and  handicrafts,  whilst  there 
was  also  a  gradual  return  to  agriculture  both  in  the  Old  and 
the  New  World.  The  political  emancipation  of  the  Jews 
also  threw  open  to  them  the  liberal  professions  and 
Government  service,  which  are  attracting  an  increasing 
proportion  every  year,  particularly  in  Western  Europe 
and  the  United  States.  At  the  present  day,  therefore,  it 
may  be  said  that  the  Jews  are  found  in  all  the  main 
departments  of  the  economic  world  and  in  most  of  their 
subsidiary  branches. 

The  main  spheres  of  economic  activity  in  which  Jews 
have  been  engaged  is  that  of  commerce  in  all  its  forms, 
whether  as  wholesale  or  retail  traders,  bankers  or  financiers, 
shippers  of  transoceanic  trade  or  carriers  of  local  wares, 
war  contractors  or  dealers  in  old  masters,  founders  of 
newspapers  or  organizers  of  international  exhibitions. 
Professor  Werner  Sombart  has  recently  written  a  portly 


184 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  learned  volume,1  in  which  he  emphasizes  and  illustrates 
the  influence  of  the  Jews  upon  the  economic  progress  of 
modern  nations,  and  describes  how  they  quickened  inter¬ 
national  and  colonial  trade,  financed  Governments,  and 
developed  and  perfected  the  commercial  and  financial 
instruments  of  modern  economic  life.  He  maintains  that 
the  centre  of  trade  was  transferred  from  the  south  to  the 
north  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
in  consequence  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Spain 
and  their  migration  into  Holland,  Germany,  and  England, 
but  his  proofs  of  this  contention  are  inadequate,  and  it  is 
more  likely  that  the  Jews  simply  developed  and  profited 
by  the  commercial  opportunities  which  they  already  found 
in  these  lands.  It  is  less  disputable,  however,  that  they 
held  the  biggest  portion  of  the  Levantine  trade  in  their 
hands  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  eighteenth  century  and 
took  a  prominent  part  in  bringing  the  commodities  of  the 
Indies  to  Europe  ;  that  they  established  the  importance  of 
the  Leipzig  fairs  and  were  the  first  to  exploit  the  trade  in 
precious  metals  ;  that  they  had  a  considerable  share  in 
founding  the  British  colonial  trade  and  in  promoting  the 
economic  development  of  the  American  Commonwealth  ; 
and  that  with  the  advance  of  the  present  capitalistic  era 
they  developed  the  bill  exchange  and  stock  exchange  and 
popularized  the  bill  of  exchange,  the  company  share,  the 
banknote,  and  other  negotiable  instruments  of  modern 
commerce.  The  “  industrial  awakening  of  almost  the 
whole  interior  of  Cape  Colony  ”  in  the  early  thirties  of 
the  nineteenth  century  was  due  to  Benjamin  Markus  and 
Simeon  Nor  den 2 ;  the  wool  and  hide  trades  and  the 
mohair  industry  in  South  Africa  were  established  by  the 
Mosenthal  brothers,  and  the  whale  and  fishing  industry 
by  the  De  Pass  brothers  ;  Joel  Myers  introduced  ostrich 
farming,  whilst  the  Albus,  Barnatos,  and  Ecksteins  played 


1  Die  Juden  und  das  Wirtschaftsleben  (Duncker  &  Humblot,  Leipzig, 
1911).  An  English  translation,  somewhat  abbreviated,  by  Dr.  M.  Epstein, 
has  been  published  under  the  title  of  The  Jews  and  Modern  Capitalism 
(Fisher  Unwin,  1913). 

2  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  xi.  p.  476. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY  185 


a  prominent  part  in  the  development  of  the  diamond  and 
gold  mines.  One  of  the  most  romantic  episodes  in  the 
colonization  of  South  Africa  was  the  creation  of  Nathaniel 
Isaacs  in  1828  as  Chief  of  Natal  by  Tchaka,  King  of  the 
Zulus,  who  presented  him  with  a  great  tract  of  the  country 
extending  100  miles  inland  from  the  sea  in  return  for  his 
services  in  subduing  a  hostile  tribe.  In  more  recent  times 
Jews  have  distinguished  themselves  by  creating  the 
department  stores,  particularly  on  the  Continent  and  in 
America,1  and  by  attaining  a  prominent  position  in  the 
art-dealing  world  of  Europe.2 

The  success  of  the  Jew  in  business  has  prompted  various 
theories  as  to  its  origin.  Professor  Sombart  has  evolved 
the  fanciful  idea  that  the  Jew  owes  his  commercial  aptitude 
to  the  influence  of  his  religion,  which  he  regards  as  domin¬ 
ated  by  rationalism  ;  but  Dr.  Ruppin  and  Dr.  Zollschan  3 
are  nearer  the  truth  in  declaring  that  the  Jew  has  no 
specific  business  capacity,  but  that  his  general  intellectual 
equipment  finds  a  fertile  field  of  activity  in  a  vocation 
demanding  mobility  and  originality  of  thought  and  prompt¬ 
ness  of  action,  and  that  it  is  by  virtue  of  the  same  mental 
qualities  that  he  has  distinguished  himself  in  politics,  law, 
medicine,  and  chess-playing.  The  Jew  is  of  a  speculative 
and  calculating  turn  of  mind  ;  he  is  quick  to  comprehend  ; 
he  has  enterprise,  initiative,  and  foresight  ;  he  is  a  keen 
competitor,  a  hard  bargainer,  a  capable  organizer,  and 
has  known  how  to  develop  and  utilize  the  art  of  advertise¬ 
ment  :  all  attributes  of  supreme  value  in  the  commercial 
struggle.  He  is,  moreover,  endowed  with  perseverance 
and  readiness  of  resource  ;  he  can  adapt  himself  to  the 
whims  of  fortune  and  quickly  change  from  one  line  of 
business  to  another,  and  even  from  one  occupation  to 
another,  in  the  determination  to  advance.  He  has  estab¬ 
lished  a  secure,  if  not  everywhere  prosperous  position  in 

1  Wertheim  and  Tietz  in  Germany  ;  Macy  and  Rosenwald  in  America. 

2  Duveen,  London  ;  Seligmann,  Paris ;  Heilbronn,  Berlin  ;  Hirsch, 
Vienna,  etc. 

3  See  Dr.  Zollschan’s  criticism  of  Prof.  Sombart's  theories  in  the  preface 
to  the  third  edition  of  Das  Rassenproblem  (Wm.  Braumiiller,  Vienna  and 
Leipzig,  1912). 


86 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  business  world,  though  he  has  a  match  not  only  in  the 
Greeks  and  Armenians,  who  are  born  traders,  but  also  in 
the  Americans  and  the  Scotsmen.  It  is  inevitable  that 
when  a  large  section  of  a  people  is  engaged  in  business  a 
certain  proportion,  whose  methods  are  not  very  scrupulous, 
should  be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  the  people  at  large  ; 
but  to  what  an  extent  this  judgment  is  just  has  been 
discussed  in  the  chapter  on  “  Morality.”  But  although  the 
Jew  has  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  the  personifica¬ 
tion  of  the  commercial  spirit,  he  is  sometimes  quite  shiftless 
and  helpless,  failing  miserably  in  everything  he  undertakes 
as  though  pursued  by  some  mocking  sprite  and  good- 
humouredly  nicknamed  by  his  brethren  a  Schlemiel. 

In  Germany  and  Italy  one-half  of  the  Jews  are  en¬ 
gaged  in  commerce,  and  in  Austria  and  Russia  over  two- 
fifths.1 * * * V  In  Germany  50-35  per  cent  of  the  Jews  are 
engaged  in  commerce  and  transport  as  compared  with 
13-41  per  cent  of  the  general  population  ;  but  whilst  they 
formed  10*5  per  cent  of  the  entire  commercial  class  in  1895, 
they  are  now  only  7-9  per  cent.  In  Italy  50*35  per  cent 

1  Complete  occupation  statistics  of  the  Jews  are  available  for  these  four 

countries  and  to  a  limited  extent  for  Rumania.  The  figures  given  here 

are  taken  from  the  following  sources,  the  years  after  the  country  being  the 

date  of  the  census  : — (a)  Germany  (1907)  :  Die  beruflichen  und  sozialen 

V  erhaltnisse  dev  Juden  in  Deutschland,  by  Dr.  J  Segall  (Berlin :  Max 
Scliildberger,  1912)  ;  ( b )  Italy  (1901)  :  Zeitschrift  l Ur  Demographie  und 
Statistik  der  Juden,  January  1905  (Berlin)  ;  ( c )  Austria  (1900)  :  Die  Juden 
in  Oesterreich,  by  Dr.  J.  Thon  (Berlin,  1908)  ;  (d)  Russia  (1897)  :  The 
sozialen  V erhaltnisse  der  Juden  in  Rttssland  (Berlin,  1906),  Bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labour,  “  Economic  Condition  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,”  by  I.  M. 
Ru binow  (Washington,  1907),  and  Die  Wanderbewegungen  der  Judeyi,  by 
W.  W.  Kaplun-Kogan  (Bonn:  Markus  &  Weber,  1913);  (e)  Rumania 
(1901-2  and  1904)  :  Die  Juden  in  Rumanien  (Berlin,  1908).  The  original 
sources  of  the  statistics  for  Russia  are  the  Government  Census  of  1897  and 
the  Investigation  conducted  by  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  in 
1898-99,  published  first  in  Russia  (St.  Petersburg,  1904)  and  afterwards  in 
French  under  the  title  of  Recueil  de  mat&riaux  sur  la  situation  tconomique 
des  Israelites  en  Russie  d’aprZs  VenquMe  de  la  Jewish  Colonisation  Associa¬ 
tion  (Paris,  1906).  The  only  other  country  of  which  Jewish  occupation 
statistics  are  extant  is  New  South  Wales  {Hebrew  Standard,  Sydney, 
10th  March  1905),  but  as  they  only  concern  a  total  employed  population  of 
3031  and  were  compiled  in  1901  they  cannot  be  regarded  as  of  much  signi¬ 
ficance  for  present-day  conditions. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY  187 


of  the  Jews  are  engaged  in  business,  as  compared  with  only 
8*32  per  cent  of  the  general  population.  In  Austria, 
where  the  percentage  is  43-7  and  8-3  respectively,  the  Jews 
practically  monopolize  trade  in  Galicia,  where  there  is  a 
dearth  of  industries  and  the  staple  occupation  is  agriculture. 
They  form  91*2  per  cent  of  the  dealers  in  merchandise  in 
East  Galicia  and  81  per  cent  in  West  Galicia,  85*3  per  cent 
of  the  brokers  and  agents  in  East  Galicia  and  66*3  per  cent 
in  West  Galicia,  but  the  great  majority  are  merely  petty 
shopkeepers,  pedlars,  and  hawkers,  who  can  hardly  keep 
body  and  soul  together.  In  Russia  42*62  per  cent  of  the 
Jews  are  engaged  in  commerce  and  transport  (38*64  per 
cent  in  commerce  alone),  as  compared  with  only  2*7  per 
cent  of  the  general  population,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  Russia  is  predominantly  an  agrarian  country  and 
that  the  Jews,  with  the  exceptions  to  be  noted  later,  are 
barred  from  the  soil.  They  form  one-third  of  the  entire 
mercantile  class  in  the  Russian  Empire  and  as  much  as 
four-fifths  in  the  Pale  of  Settlement  alone.  Nearly  one- 
half  of  the  Jewish  merchants  in  Russia  trade  in  agricultural 
produce,  they  constitute  over  90  per  cent  of  the  grain 
dealers  in  the  Empire,  and  practically  monopolize  the 
corn  trade  in  the  Pale  and  along  the  Black  Sea  ;  but  they 
are  also  represented  in  many  other  branches  of  commerce, 
particularly  clothing,  textiles,  and  timber.  The  general 
characteristics  of  Jewish  trade  in  Russia  are  overcrowding, 
excessive  and  unhealthy  competition,  and  its  restriction 
mainly  to  manufactured  articles  of  inferior  value  and 
commodities  intended  for  immediate  consumption.  In 
Rumania  the  Jews  form  a  fifth  of  the  entire  commercial 
class,  whilst  the  proportion  rises  in  some  departments  of 
the  country  to  a  half  and  even  three-fourths,  the  maximum 
being  reached  in  Jassy  and  Botosani.  They  entirely 
monopolize  the  petroleum  trade  and  form  the  bulk  of  the 
dealers  in  iron  goods  (92  per  cent),  cotton  goods  (88  per 
cent),  flour,  timber,  and  fur.  Most  of  the  native  Jews  in 
England  and  America  are  also  engaged  in  commerce,  those 
in  the  latter  country  largely  controlling  the  trade  in  corn, 
tobacco,  and  cotton,  whilst  the  East  European  immigrants 


1 88 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


in  these  countries  provide  a  contingent  of  shopkeepers, 
hawkers,  and  pedlars. 

The  participation  of  Jews  in  finance  is  relatively  not 
so  great  or  important  at  the  present  day  as  it  was  until  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  refusal  of  the 
mediaeval  Church  to  allow  its  followers  to  deal  in  money, 
as  something  taboo,  gave  the  Jews  a  monopoly  in  which 
they  were  able  to  specialize,  and  they  thus  acquired  con¬ 
siderable  skill  and  success  in  financial  operations.  The 
outstanding  episode  in  the  history  of  Jewish  finance,  as 
indeed  in  the  annals  of  modem  finance  in  general,  is  the 
unparalleled  rise  of  the  firm  of  Rothschild,  which,  starting 
from  modest  foundations  in  Frankfort  in  1760,  raised 
loans  for  almost  every  country  of  importance  during  the 
next  hundred  years,  and  is  estimated  to  have  contracted  for 
or  participated  in  loans  to  the  huge  total  of  £1,300,000,000 
up  to  1904.1  Among  the  most  important  transactions 
carried  out  by  the  Rothschilds  were  the  transmission  of 
£18,000,000  sterling  to  the  Continent  between  1814  and 
1822  for  payment  to  the  anti-Napoleonic  Allies,  the  raising 
of  a  loan  of  £15,000,000  for  the  English  Government  in 
1856,  the  arrangement  with  Bleichroeder  for  the  payment  to 
Germany  of  the  French  indemnity  of  five  million  francs  after 
the  Franco-Prussian  War,  and  the  advance  of  £4,080,000 
to  the  English  Government  in  1875  for  the  purchase  of 
176,600  Suez  Canal  shares.2  One  of  the  most  important 
factors  that  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  Rothschild 
house  was  its  establishment  of  branches  in  London,  Paris, 
Vienna,  and  Naples,  each  headed  by  a  brother,  which 
enabled  it  to  undertake  operations  of  an  international 
character;  but  the  branch  at  Naples  was  discontinued  in 
1861,  and  the  ancestral  house  at  Frankfort  was  closed  forty 
years  later.  The  Rothschild  firm,  however,  was  not  the 
only  Jewish  house  that  undertook  State  and  municipal 
loans  in  the  early  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  :  it  had 
many  serious  competitors  in  the  Pereires,  Lazards,  Speyers, 
Sterns,  Seligmanns,  and  Bischoffsheims,  who  also  adopted 

1  Financial  Times,  13th  February  1913. 

2  Jewish  Encyclopaedia,  x.,  art.  “  Rothschild.” 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY  189 


the  Rothschild  system  of  establishing  local  branches  in 
European  capitals,  each  under  the  charge  of  a  brother. 
But  the  movement  that  spread  throughout  Western  Europe 
in  the  fifties  of  last  century  for  the  formation  of  credit 
banks  and  the  growing  practice  of  Governments  to  throw 
open  the  subscription  of  loans  to  the  general  public  com¬ 
bined  to  break  down  the  Jewish  monopoly  of  international 
finance,  which  may  be  said  to  have  largely  passed  away  by 
1900. 1  Jewish  financiers  invested  considerably  in  the 
construction  of  railways  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  notably  the  Pereires  in  North  France,  the  Bischoffs- 
heims  in  Belgium,  the  Bleichroeders  in  Germany,  Baron 
de  Hirsch  in  Turkey,  and  Messrs.  Kuhn,  Loeb,  &  Co. 
(Mr.  Jacob  H.  Schiff)  in  the  United  States,  and  it  was  to  a 
Jew  by  birth,  Sir  Ernest  Cassel,  that  the  financing  of  the 
Nile  Dam  was  due.  In  Russia,  too,  the  influence  of  Jewish 
finance  showed  itself  in  the  establishment  of  commercial 
banks  by  Barons  Joseph  and  Horace  de  Giinzburg  and 
Leon  Rosenthal  of  St.  Petersburg  and  by  Baron  Kronen- 
berg  and  Iwan  Blioch  of  Warsaw ;  whilst  farther  east,  the 
Sassoons,  “  the  Rothschilds  of  the  East/’  have  created  a 
network  of  banks  from  Bagdad  to  Shanghai.  At  present 
the  movement  of  precious  metals  throughout  the  world  is 
mainly  directed  by  Jewish  bankers,  who  largely  deter¬ 
mine  the  rate  of  exchange  between  one  country  and 
another ;  but  there  is  absolutely  no  ground  for  the  allega¬ 
tion,  often  made  by  anti-Semitic  scribes,  that  the  Jewish 
financiers  of  different  countries  are  in  alliance  and  use 
their  combined  resources  for  particular  operations.  On 
the  contrary,  the  competition  between  Jewish  houses  is 
just  as  keen  as  between  other  firms.  If  there  is  any  policy 
at  all,  apart  from  purely  business  considerations,  by  which 
self-respecting  Jewish  financiers  are  guided,  it  is  the  ab¬ 
stention  from  raising  loans  for  the  Russian  Government  as 
a  protest  against  its  inhuman  treatment  of  their  brethren, 
a  policy  that  must  be  endorsed  by  every  friend  of  freedom. 
There  is,  moreover,  a  notable  decline  in  the  proportion  of 
Jews  engaged  in  finance.  In  Germany  they  formed  13*8 

1  Jewish  Encyclopcedia,  v.,  art.  “  Finance." 


190 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


per  cent  of  the  entire  class  engaged  in  financial  pursuits 
in  1895,  but  this  percentage  sank  to  7*9  by  1907  owing  to 
the  private  banks  being  replaced  by  big  joint-stock  banks 
capable  of  supplying  the  credit  needed  for  Germany’s  in¬ 
dustrial  and  commercial  development.1  In  Italy  only 
2*83  per  cent,  and  in  Russia  only  ’15  per  cent  of  the 
Jewish  population  followed  a  financial  calling.  The  number 
of  Jews  on  the  stock  exchange  is  not  as  large  as  is  popularly 
supposed.  In  London  there  are  estimated  to  be  330  Jews 
among  5100  members  of  the  Stock  Exchange — that  is,  over 
6  per  cent 2 ;  whilst  in  New  York  the  percentage  is  prob¬ 
ably  nearly  twice  as  high. 

A  significant  tendency  of  modern  times  is  the  increasing 
number  of  Jews  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits,  whether 
as  manufacturers  or  mechanics,  a  tendency  illustrated 
by  the  large  number  of  Jewish  schools  for  manual  crafts 
founded  during  the  last  half-century  not  only  in  Europe 
and  America  but  also  in  Palestine.  In  Germany  21  '87 
per  cent  of  the  Jews  were  engaged  in  industry  in  1907, 
as  compared  with  19*30  per  cent  in  1895  ;  in  Austria  the 
percentage  is  26*4,  and  in  Russia  as  high  as  34*63,  whilst 
in  Italy  it  is  as  low  as  8*68.  In  Germany  the  principal 
industries  in  which  they  are  engaged  are  those  of  machinery, 
metals,  building,  paper,  timber,  and  especially  chemicals 
and  textiles.  In  Austria  the  bulk  of  Jewish  manufacturers 
and  artisans  are  concentrated  in  Galicia,  in  the  east  of 
which  they  form  from  52  to  56  per  cent  of  those  engaged 
in  the  metal,  chemical,  food,  leather,  and  paper  industries, 
and  41  per  cent  of  the  clothing  industry.  Particularly 
noteworthy  is  the  mining  colony  in  Boryslav,  consisting 
of  exemplars  of  Jewish  pluck.3  In  Rumania,  despite 
the  special  laws  aiming  at  the  restriction  of  Jewish  enter¬ 
prise,  they  form  19*5  per  cent  of  all  the  manufacturers, 
and  only  5*3  per  cent  of  the  factory  employees,  whilst 
they  account  for  52*8  per  cent  of  the  glass,  32*4  per  cent 

1  Segall,  Die  beruflichen  und  so.zialen  V erhdltnisse  dev  Juden  in  Deutsch¬ 
land,  p.  33. 

2  Mr.  Percy  M.  Castello,  in  the  Jewish  Chronicle,  17th  June  1910. 

3  Die  Welt,  20th  June  1913. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


191 

of  the  furniture,  and  39*1  per  cent  of  the  clothing  manu¬ 
facturers.1  One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of 
Jewish  labour,  not  only  on  the  Continent  but  also  in 
England  and  America,  is  the  comparatively  large  propor¬ 
tion  occupied  in  the  clothing  industry.  Of  40,000  Jewish 
artisans  in  Germany,  distributed  in  twenty-two  different 
occupations,  over  one-third  are  engaged  in  this  industry,2 
whilst  in  Rumania  it  claims  over  three-fifths.  In  Russia 
over  one-seventh  of  the  entire  Jewish  population  is  either 
engaged  in  or  dependent  upon  the  clothing  industry  (in¬ 
cluding  hats,  boots,  and  gloves,  as  well  as  clothes).  In 
Rumania  the  proportion  of  Jews  in  manual  trades  is  four  and 
a  half  times  larger  than  their  ratio  to  the  population,  whilst 
in  Jassy  they  form  over  three-fourths  of  the  artisan  class. 
They  are  mostly  engaged  either  in  trades  demanding 
special  skill,  such  as  engraving  and  watchmaking,  or  in 
those  that  involve  physical  strain,  as  tailors,  shoemakers, 
box-makers,  plumbers,  bookbinders,  and  paper-hangers. 

To  those  who  have  hitherto  regarded  the  Jews  in 
Russia  as  wholly  or  mainly  absorbed  in  barter  it  will  come 
as  a  revelation  to  learn  that  nearly  two-fifths  are  occupied 
in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits,  in  which  less 
than  a  sixth  (15*4  per  cent)  of  the  general  population  is 
represented.  Although  the  Jews  form  little  more  than 
4  per  cent  of  the  population  of  Russia,  they  constitute  10 -5 
per  cent  of  the  entire  industrial  class  in  the  Empire,  and 
as  much  as  a  third  in  the  Pale  of  Settlement.  In  the 
north-western  provinces,  Lithuania  and  White  Russia, 
industrial  occupations  even  claim  a  greater  proportion  of 
Jews  than  commerce  :  in  Lithuania  there  are  44^2  per 
cent  in  industries  and  only  23*8  per  cent  in  commerce, 
whilst  in  White  Russia  there  are  42*2  and  27*4  per  cent 
respectively.3  It  is  in  these  provinces  that  the  congestion 
is  greatest,  the  economic  conditions  are  lowest,  and  the 
labour  movement  is  strongest.  In  the  Pale,  according 
to  the  latest  statistics,  the  Jews  owned  37*8  per  cent  of 

1  Die  Juden  in  Rumanien,  p.  30. 

2  Segall,  p.  44. 

3  Rubinow,  Economic  Conditions  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  p.  502. 


192 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  factories  (2933  out  of  77 50),  and  formed  27  per  cent 
of  the  employees  (63,509  out  of  235,203),  but  the  value  of 
the  products  manufactured  in  Jewish  factories  was  only 
22*5  per  cent  of  the  total  value  of  the  manufactures.1 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  average  Jewish  manufac¬ 
turer  has  a  smaller  capital  than  his  non- Jewish  competitor, 
his  factory  is  a  smaller  establishment  and  seldom  equipped 
with  the  best  machinery,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  is 
relatively  larger,  as  he  is  by  law  confined  to  the  town, 
whilst  his  non- Jewish  competitor  can  build  his  factory 
in  the  country,  where  rent  and  labour  are  cheaper.  The 
industries  in  which  Jewish  manufacturers  are  engaged 
present  a  wide  variety  :  textiles  (80  per  cent  of  the  total), 
timber,  tobacco  (75  per  cent),  hides,  soap  (87  per  cent), 
bricks,  tiles,  flour-mill  products,  creameries,  breweries,  and 
mineral  waters.  In  Poland  there  are  305  Jewish  factories 
of  textile  goods,  of  which  155  are  in  Lodz,  employing  about 
13,000  men ;  and  in  Bialystok  and  its  suburbs  there  are 
299  Jewish  factories  out  of  a  total  of  372.  The  total 
number  of  Jewish  factory- workers  in  the  entire  Pale  is 
probably  between  100,000  and  150,000,  and  the  conditions 
of  most  of  them  are  distressing.  They  are  confined  to  the 
towns,  they  cannot  work  on  the  Sabbath,  they  have  a 
higher  standard  of  life  than  the  Russian  operative  who 
has  been  brought  up  in  the  country  and  can  generally  fall 
back  upon  a  little  farm  in  bad  times,  and  they  have  a 
difficulty  in  getting  employment  not  only  in  non- Jewish 
works,  which  are  often  controlled  by  anti-Semitic  managers, 
but  also  in  Jewish  works,  as  they  are  apt  to  look  upon 
their  employer  as  their  equal  and  know  how  to  protect 
their  interests  by  organization. 

The  conditions  of  the  artisans  are  scarcely  better. 
There  are  over  half  a  million,  who,  with  their  families, 
form  a  third  of  the  Jewish  population  in  Russia.  Although 
permitted  to  live  in  certain  parts  outside  the  Pale,  the 
conditions  governing  their  residence  are  so  burdensome 
and  harassing  that  the  great  majority  remain  perforce  in 
their  native  towns,  where  they  work  mostly  at  home  in 
1  Rubinow,  Economic  Conditions  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  p.  537. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


193 


insanitary  conditions  and  for  an  overcrowded  market. 
Over  38  per  cent  are  engaged  in  the  production  of  clothing 
and  other  wearing  apparel,  17  per  cent  in  leather  wares 
(boots,  gloves,  etc.),  11  per  cent  in  food  products,  nearly 
10  per  cent  in  furniture,  9  per  cent  in  metals,  6  per  cent 
in  bricks  and  tiles,  and  the  rest  in  the  textile,  paper, 
stationery,  and  chemical  industries.  Different  towns  have 
specialized  in  particular  industries  :  thus  several  towns 
in  the  province  of  Siedlec  are  engaged  in  brush-making, 
Grodno  is  devoted  to  boots  and  shoes,  Vitebsk  to  agri¬ 
cultural  machinery,  and  Bresin  to  ready-made  clothing. 
Unskilled  labour  is  generally  avoided  by  Jews  :  it  claims 
only  2  per  cent  of  the  total  Jewish  population  in  Russia. 
In  the  Pale  there  are  over  100,000  Jews  employed  in 
unskilled  labour,  mostly  as  dock-labourers  (especially  in 
South  Russia),  carriers,  teamsters,  cabmen,  farm-labourers, 
diggers  and  stonebreakers,  lumbermen,  raftsmen,  rag¬ 
pickers,  and  water-carriers.  This  at  least  proves  that 
Jews,  if  needs  be,  can  undertake  the  hardest  form  of 
physical  labour.  They  are  also  found  as  dock-labourers 
at  Salonica,  Beyrout,  and  other  Levantine  ports.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  are  apt  to  look  down  upon  employ¬ 
ment  as  domestic  servants  or  waiters  as  servile  callings 
that  suppress  personal  individuality. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Jewish  industry 
in  Russia  is  the  large  proportion  of  female  labour.  The 
day  is  long  past  when  the  Jewish  woman  was  able  to  keep 
within  the  peaceful  seclusion  of  the  home  :  the  fight  for 
existence  has  driven  her  also  into  the  factory  and  workshop. 
Women  form  21*26  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  wage-earning 
class  in  Russia,  and  account  for  15*3  per  cent  of  the 
artisans.  In  the  north-west  provinces  women  and  girls 
form  a  third  of  the  Jewish  artisans,  and  over  80  per  cent 
are  employed  as  dressmakers,  seamstresses,  milliners, 
stocking-knitters,  and  cigarette-makers.  Female  and 
child  labour  is  also  largely  employed  in  factories,  ranging 
from  20*2  per  cent  in  South  Russia  to  37*4  per  cent  in 
Poland,  and  42*4  per  cent  in  the  north-west  provinces  ; 
and  it  is  found  in  many  industries  of  a  dangerous  kind,  such 

13 


194 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


as  the  manufacture  of  bricks  and  of  matches,  the  packing 
of  matches  being  done  mostly  at  home.  In  Germany, 
also,  it  may  be  added,  women  form  21 '97  per  cent  of  the 
entire  Jewish  working  population,  but  they  are  engaged 
more  in  business  and  professions  than  in  factories  and 
domestic  service.  The  percentage  of  Jewesses  in  employ¬ 
ment  in  that  country  rose  from  21  '97  in  1875  to  30  in 
1907.1 

The  emigrants  from  East  Europe  who  have  settled  in 
such  large  numbers  in  America  and  England  during  the 
last  thirty  years  have  brought  with  them  the  industries 
in  which  they  were  engaged  at  home,  namely,  tailoring, 
shoemaking,  cabinet-making,  cigarette-making,  cap-making, 
and  furriery,  though  they  are  also  represented  in  all  other 
trades.  It  is  mainly  due  to  them  that  these  industries 
have  become  of  increasing  importance  in  these  countries  : 
they  monopolize  the  clothing  trade  in  the  United  States 
and  largely  dominate  it  in  England.  In  New  York  there 
are  over  2000  firms  employing  about  80,000  men  and 
women  in  the  designing  and  making  of  clothes.  The 
leading  industry  of  the  city  and  state  of  New  York  is  the 
manufacture  of  women’s  clothing,  which  had  a  production 
in  1909  of  272,518,000  dollars,  and  75  per  cent  of  the 
development  of  which  has  taken  place  during  the  last 
fifteen  years.  All  the  firms  and  employees  engaged  in 
this  industry,  with  insignificant  exceptions,  are  Jews.2 
Almost  53  per  cent  of  the  male  Russo- Jewish  workers 
and  77  per  cent  of  the  female  workers  in  New  York  are 
employed  in  tailoring,  dressmaking,  and  cognate  trades.3 
In  England  one- third  of  the  Russian  and  Polish  Jews  are 
estimated  to  be  in  this  branch  of  industry,  and  to  them 
is  entirely  due  the  introduction  of  the  ladies’  jacket  and 
mantle  trade.4  The  centres  of  the  tailoring  trade  are 
London,  Manchester,  Leeds,  whilst  the  Manchester  water- 


1  Segall,  p.  78. 

2  Jewish  Immigration  Bulletin,  November-December  1912,  New  York. 

3  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America,  p.  112. 

4  The  Jew  in  London,  by  C.  Russell  and  H.  S.  Lewis  (Fisher  Unwin, 
1901),  p.  73. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


195 


proof  garments  industry  is  also  in  Jewish  hands.  The 
influx  of  Jewish  immigrants  into  the  English  labour  market 
gave  rise  in  recent  years  to  the  complaint  that  they 
lowered  the  rate  of  wages  and  took  the  bread  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  native  workman,  but  the  investigations 
that  have  been  made  into  the  question  have  shown  the 
charge  to  be  groundless.  When  the  immigrant  first 
arrives  in  London  he  may  submit  to  sweating  conditions 
rather  than  beg  or  starve  or  sink  to  the  depravity  of  the 
indigenous  wastrels  who  sleep  in  the  parks  by  day  and 
in  the  “  doss-houses  ”  by  night ;  but  he  very  soon  asserts 
his  position  and  obtains  a  normal  wage.  Moreover,  as 
the  Jew  has  created  his  own  industries  there  is  practically 
no  competition  with  the  Gentile  workman  in  the  labour 
market,  Jew  and  Gentile  working,  as  Mr.  Sidney  Webb 
has  put  it,  “  in  water-tight  compartments/’  A  similar 
charge  of  undercutting  the  rate  of  wages  has  been  made 
in  America,  but  the  Immigration  Commission,  after  a 
study  of  the  earnings  of  more  than  half  a  million  employees 
in  mines  and  manufactures,  has  discovered  no  evidence 
that  immigrants  have  been  hired  for  less  than  the  prevail¬ 
ing  rate  of  wages.  On  the  contrary,  Dr.  Hourwich  has 
recently  shown  that  the  average  wage  is  higher  in  those 
parts  of  the  United  States  where  there  is  a  larger  percentage 
of  foreign-born  workmen,  that  there  has  been  a  gradual 
reduction  of  the  working  day  during  the  past  decade  in 
the  state  most  affected — New  York,  and  that  the  proportion 
of  children  employed  in  factories  is  greatest  in  the  states 
where  there  is  practically  no  immigrant  population.1 
The  immigrant  is  constantly  spurred  on  to  improve  his 
position  and  to  become  his  own  master,  not  only  because 
he  brings  his  wife  and  children  to  join  him  at  the  earliest 
opportunity,  but  because  he  has  a  higher  standard  of  life 
than  the  native  workman.  He  must  provide  for  the 
proper  celebration  of  Sabbaths  and  festivals  and  for  the 
Hebrew  education  of  his  children,  and  he  subscribes  to  a 
synagogue  and  benefit  society.  The  trade  union  move¬ 
ment  has  so  far  not  found  much  hold  among  the  Jewish 

1 1.  A.  Hourwich,  Immigration  and  Labour  (Putnam,  1913). 


196  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


immigrants,  partly  owing  to  the  shifting  character  of 
their  class,  partly  owing  to  their  irrepressible  ambition 
to  rise  from  the  ranks  of  the  toilers,  and  partly  owing 
to  their  lack  of  the  sense  of  disciplined  organization 1 ; 
but  strikes  for  the  improvement  of  employment  conditions 
are  no  infrequent  phenomenon  among  the  garment-makers 
in  New  York  and  the  bakers  in  London. 

The  return  of  the  Jews  to  the  land  during  the  nineteenth 
century  affords  a  refutation  of  the  oft-recurring  charge 
that,  having  been  cut  off  from  the  soil  and  urbanized  for 
so  many  centuries,  they  cannot  adapt  themselves  to  rural 
pursuits.  There  are  now  about  400,000  Jewish  souls 
living  by  farming  and  forestry  in  the  Old  and  in  the  New 
World,  and  the  number  is  increasing  every  year.  The 
return  to  the  land  began  in  Russia  in  1804,  when 
Alexander  I, passed  a  law  permitting  the  settlement  and 
purchase  of  land  by  Jews  in  New  and  Southern  Russia, 
and  presented  them  with  80,000  acres  in  the  province  of 
Kherson  as  a  nucleus  for  agricultural  settlements.  He 
also  granted  them  exemption  from  military  service  to 
induce  them  to  go  upon  the  land,  and  by  1810  several 
Jewish  colonies  were  established,  comprising  1700  families, 
in  Kherson.  Under  the  reign  of  his  successor,  Nicholas  I, 
further  colonies  were  established  by  private  benevolence 
in  the  provinces  of  Kherson  and  Ekaterinoslav,  and  their 
number  rose  to  371  in  1865,  when  the  Government  repented 
of  its  goodwill  and  prohibited  the  creation  of  fresh  Jewish 
colonies.  In  the  seventies  the  Government  took  nearly 
90,000  acres  away  from  the  Jewish  colonies  in  the  provinces 
of  Volhynia,  Kieff,  Podolia,  and  Tchernigoff,  and  in  1882 
the  famous  May  Laws  forbade  Jews  to  buy  or  rent  land 
in  rural  areas  in  the  fifteen  provinces  of  West  Russia,  a 
prohibition  that  was  extended  to  Poland  in  1891.  Since 
then  the  position  of  the  Jewish  farmer  in  Russia  has 
become  rather  precarious,  and  it  would  be  menaced  with 
utter  decay  if  it  were  not  for  the  material  and  financial 
assistance  rendered  by  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association, 

1  The  Jewish  Year  Book  (1914,  p.  80)  enumerates  only  twelve  Jewish 
trade  unions  in  London,  seven  belonging  to  the  clothing  industry. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


197 


which  also  maintains  a  staff  of  travelling  agriculturists 
and  five  agricultural  schools.  According  to  the  statistics 
of  1898  there  were  296  Jewish  colonies  (apart  from  those 
in  Poland),  comprising  305,407  acres.1  The  number  of 
Jews  in  Russia  independently  engaged  in  agriculture  is 
40,000,  so  that  the  entire  number,  including  dependents, 
who  live  by  it  is  close  upon  200,000.  This  forms  only 
3-8i  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  population  of  the  country, 
whilst  60 '5  per  cent  of  the  general  population  is  devoted 
to  agriculture.  The  average  estate  of  the  Jewish  farmer 
is  only  23-J-  acres  in  extent,  which  is  quite  inadequate 
for  a  comfortable  existence.  Only  one-sixth  of  these 
rural  households  owns  54  acres  or  more,  and  this  sixth 
owns  44’i  per  cent  of  the  entire  land  of  the  Jewish  colonies. 
Like  the  Russian  peasant  the  Jew  plants  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  his  land  with  cereals  and  leaves  the  rest  for 
grazing  purposes.  He  uses  only  his  own  labour,  his 
methods  are  mostly  primitive  and  his  implements  in¬ 
efficient  ;  but  fifty  years  of  farming  have  had  a  beneficial 
effect  in  developing  the  frame  and  strengthening  the 
muscle  of  the  Russian  Jew.  In  addition  to  the  colonies 
there  is  also  a  great  amount  of  independent  farming  by 
Jews,  the  entire  area  owned  or  rented  by  them  in  the 
Russian  Empire  being  6,422,684  acres,  over  two-thirds  of 
which  are  in  the  Pale.2 

In  Austria  the  percentage  of  the  Jewish  population 
engaged  in  agriculture  is  11*4,  three  times  as  high  as  that 
in  Russia,  compared  with  54-4  among  the  Christian  popula¬ 
tion.  The  entire  number  of  Jews  dependent  on  agriculture 
and  forestry  is  139,810,  the  great  bulk  of  whom  are  in 
Galicia  and  the  Bukovina,  where  177  per  cent  of  the 
Jewish  population  live  by  agriculture,  the  highest  per¬ 
centage  in  any  country.3  But  there  is  no  real  Jewish 
peasantry  in  Austria,  as  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
agriculturists  are  merely  landowners  who  do  not  them¬ 
selves  cultivate  the  soil,  though  a  great  number  of  Jewish 
farm-labourers  are  met  with  in  Galicia.  Moreover,  since 

1  Rubinow,  Economic  Conditions  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  p.  508. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  517.  3  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  112. 


1 98  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


1899,  an  agricultural  school  has  been  maintained  at 
Slobodka-Lesna,  near  Kolomea,  by  the  Jewish  Colonization 
Association.  The  amount  of  Jewish  agriculture  in  other 
parts  of  Europe  is  almost  insignificant.  In  Germany, 
according  to  the  census  of  1907,  there  were  3746  Jews 
engaged  in  farming,  forestry,  hunting,  and  fishing,  forming 
1*30  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  population,  a  decline  from 
1*41  per  cent  in  1895  1 ;  and  an  agricultural  school  has 
been  maintained  at  Ahlem,  near  Hanover,  since  1893, 
founded  by  Moritz  Simon  with  an  endowment  of  £150,000. 
In  Italy  only  *31  per  cent  of  the  Jews  are  engaged  in 
agriculture,  whilst  in  Rumania,  where  they  are  forbidden 
to  own  land,  and  in  Hungary,  where  there  is  no  such  pro¬ 
hibition,  there  are  a  great  number  of  Jewish  tenant- 
farmers  who  cultivate  the  estates  of  Christian  landowners. 

The  most  notable  advance  in  Jewish  agriculture  during 
the  last  thirty  years  has  taken  place  in  America  and 
Palestine,  partly  owing  to  the  persecutions  in  Russia  and 
partly  to  the  revival  of  the  national  idea.  The  pogroms 
of  1881  caused  an  emigration  en  masse  from  Russia,  and 
both  in  that  and  other  countries  the  cry  arose  that  the 
Jews  could  find  the  only  final  relief  from  their  sufferings 
by  resettling  upon  the  soil  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  great 
bulk  of  the  emigrants,  however,  wended  their  way  not  to 
the  ancient  but  to  the  modern  "  land  of  promise,”  and 
unsuccessful  attempts  to  found  agricultural  colonies  were 
made  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  in  the  early  eighties. 
The  real  history  of  Jewish  agriculture  in  the  New  World 
began  in  1891,  when  Baron  de  Hirsch,  moved  by  a  fresh 
eruption  of  massacre  in  Russia,  resolved  to  devote  his 
fortune  to  the  relief  of  his  brethren  by  transplanting  them 
to  America  and  settling  them  upon  the  land.  He  founded 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  as  an  English  company 
with  a  capital  of  £2,000,000,  which  was  increased  upon  his 
death  by  a  further  £9,000,000.  The  Association  devoted 
itself  in  the  first  place  to  the  settlement  of  Russian  Jews 
in  the  Argentine,  but  the  unfitness  of  most  of  the  emigrants 
for  agricultural  life  proved  a  hindrance  to  the  early  success 

1  Segall,  pp.  30  and  58. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


199 


of  its  efforts.  After  twenty-two  years  of  activity  it  has 
established  eight  colonies  in  the  Argentine,  comprising  at 
present  only  4520  families  with  24,000  souls,  of  whom 
6626  are  non-colonists — a  result  that,  compared  with  the 
enormous  sums  expended  on  the  enterprise,  can  hardly  be 
regarded  as  satisfactory.  The  total  area  covered  by  the 
colonies  is  1,250,000  acres,  of  which  462,873  acres  are  under 
cultivation.  The  colonists  grow  wheat,  flax,  barley,  corn, 
oats,  tobacco,  and  vegetables,  and  also  engage  in  cattle¬ 
rearing  and  dairying.  They  have  139,258  head  of  live 
stock,  comprising  59,415  cattle,  13,130  sheep,  and  66,713 
horses  and  other  animals.  But  although  the  extent  of 
Jewish  colonization  is  small  in  relation  to  the  money  and 
labour  devoted  to  it,  the  colonists  themselves  appear  on 
the  whole  to  have  reached  a  sound  position,  as  in  1910 
they  paid  back  538,429  dollars  to  the  Colonization  Associa¬ 
tion.  The  Association  also  started  colonizing  in  Brazil  in 
1904,  and  possesses  there  240,000  acres,  of  which  100,000 
are  covered  with  timber,  but  the  Jewish  farming  population 
so  far  numbers  only  400  souls. 

A  more  gratifying  and  promising  picture  is  presented 
by  the  Jewish  farmers  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,1 
most  of  whom  have  created  their  own  settlements,  though 
they  have  also  received  assistance  from  the  “  I.C.A.”  2  and 
other  organizations  established  with  the  funds  of  Baron 
de  Hirsch.  In  Canada  most  of  the  Jewish  farmers  are 
Russian  immigrants  settled  upon  Government  allotments  ; 
they  comprise  3482  souls  and  own  136,334  acres.  In  the 
United  States  there  are  now  about  25,000  Jewish  souls 
living  by  agriculture  and  owning  600,000  acres  distributed 
among  all  the  states  of  the  Union.  The  Jewish  farmers 
in  this  country  own  real  and  personal  property  of  an 
aggregate  value  of  33  million  dollars  and  are  organized  in 
a  federation  which  holds  annual  conferences.  They  owe 
their  advancement  in  great  measure  to  the  Jewish  Agri¬ 
cultural  and  Industrial  Aid  Society  of  New  York,  which 

1  See  an  excellent  and  up-to-date  account,  “  The  Agricultural  Activities 
of  the  Jews  in  America/'  by  Leonard  G.  Robinson,  in  the  American  Jewish 
Year  Book  for  5673.  2  Familiar  abbreviation  for  Jew.  Col.  Association; 


200 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


encourages  farming  by  rational  methods  and  issues  a 
monthly  Yiddish  journal,  The  Jewish  Farmer,  which  has 
a  circulation  of  5000  in  sixteen  countries. 

Far  more  significant  for  the  future  of  the  Jews  as  a 
nation  is  the  growth  of  the  colonization  movement  in 
Palestine.  In  1870  the  Agricultural  School  at  Mikveh 
Israel  (“  Hope  of  Israel  ”),  near  Jaffa,  was  founded  by 
the  “  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle  ”  for  the  training  of 
the  Jewish  youth  of  the  Orient  and  of  Eastern  Europe  in 
agriculture  ;  but  this  school  was  of  little  practical  use  as 
long  as  the  Jews  had  no  land  of  their  own  in  Palestine. 
Nine  years  later  a  number  of  Jews  of  Jerusalem  attempted 
to  found  a  colony  near  the  Arab  village  Mulabbis  in  the 
Plain  of  Sharon,  which  they  called  Petach  Tikvah  (“  Gate  of 
Hope  ”),  but  owing  to  the  fever  spread  by  the  rain-sodden 
soil  they  had  to  abandon  the  attempt  until  1882,  when 
they  returned,  reinforced  by  well-to-do  emigrants  from 
Russia.  The  marshy  land  of  Petach  Tikvah  was  then 
planted  with  eucalyptus  trees  and  the  sanitary  conditions 
improved,  but  the  lack  of  means  for  the  purchase  of  imple¬ 
ments  and  other  equipment  necessitated  aid  from  abroad. 
It  was  in  the  same  year,  1882,  that  a  “  Society  for  the 
vSupport  of  Jewish  Agriculturists  and  Artisans  in  Palestine,” 
known  as  the  Chovevei  Zion  (“  Lovers  of  Zion”),  was 
founded  in  Odessa,  and  societies  with  similar  objects  arose  in 
Germany,  Rumania,  England,  and  other  countries.  The 
Odessa  Society  at  once  started  operations,  and  the  re¬ 
colonization  of  Palestine  thus  really  dates  from  1882. 
“Not  only  was  the  existence  of  the  first,  and  so  far  the 
largest  colony,  Petach  Tikvah,  assured  in  this  year,  but 
the  three  most  important  and  central  colonies  in  the  three 
different  districts  of  Palestine,  Rishon-le-Zion  in  Judaea, 
Zichron  Jacob  in  Samaria,  and  Rosh  Pinnah  in  Galilee, 
were  founded  by  people  who  immigrated  into  Palestine  in 
large  numbers  from  Russia,  Poland,  and  Rumania,  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  the  Jewish  persecutions  in  1881-82.”  1  These 

1  Die  judischen  Kolonien  Palastinas,  by  Jcsaias  Press  (J.  C.  Hinrichs, 
Leipzig,  1912),  p.  4 — the  latest  reliable  account  of  Jewish  colonization 
in  Palestine. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


201 


pioneer  colonies,  however,  had  to  struggle  against  serious 
privations  and  might  have  succumbed  had  it  not  been  for 
the  munificent  support  of  Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild, 
of  Paris,  who  from  1883  devoted  considerable  funds  to  the 
purchase  of  land  and  the  promotion  of  Jewish  colonization 
in  Palestine.  The  benevolence  of  “  the  Baron,”  as  he  was 
affectionately  called,  had  a  somewhat  demoralizing  effect 
upon  the  colonists,  as  their  reliance  upon  his  aid  deprived 
them  of  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  of  all  perseverance. 
Hence  he  found  it  necessary  afterwards  to  pull  his  purse¬ 
strings  tight,  and  in  1910  he  transferred  the  administration 
of  his  colonies  to  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association, 
since  when  they  have  been  able  to  pay  their  way  and  to 
repay  some  of  their  old  debts.  The  latest  and  most  impor¬ 
tant  factor  in  the  development  of  colonization  in  Palestine 
is  the  Zionist  Organization,  which  has  stimulated  the 
increase  of  Jewish  farmers,  increased  the  amount  of  land 
in  Jewish  possession,  introduced  modern  and  scientific 
methods  of  agriculture,  advanced  agrarian  loans,  and 
established  colonies  upon  the  co-operative  system.  This 
organization  also  gave  the  impetus  to  the  creation  of  the 
Jewish  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  at  Haifa,  and 
has  in  manifold  directions  promoted  the  welfare  of  the 
rural  settlements.  The  agricultural  industry  in  Palestine, 
which  comprises  corn,  wine,  oranges,  olives,  and  tobacco, 
has  now  reached  a  sound  and  stable  position  and  has  an 
assured  future.  There  are  forty  separate  Jewish  colonies 
in  the  country,  which,  with  some  unoccupied  lands,  cover 
an  area  of  40,344  hectares  1  or  close  upon  100,000  acres, 
i'll  per  cent  of  the  entire  area  of  Palestine,  and  support 
a  farming  population  of  8500  souls.  They  produce  annually 
about  50,000  hectolitres  of  wine  and  cognac,  which  are 
exported  to  Egypt,  Turkey,  Russia,  Germany,  England, 
and  the  United  States,  and  they  owned  one-third  of  the 
six  million  francs  of  oranges  exported  from  Jaffa  in  1912. 
Outside  Palestine  the  extent  of  Jewish  agriculture  in  the 
Orient  is  insignificant,  and  is  mainly  confined  to  the  agri- 

1  B.  Goldberg  in  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  juden, 
February  1913. 


202 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


cultural  school  of  Djedeidain  Tunis,  founded  in  1895  by  the 
“  Alliance  Israelite,”  and  the  school  of  Or  Jehuda  (“  Light 
of  Judah  ”),  near  Smyrna,  founded  in  1899  by  the  “  I.C.A.” 

The  last  important  sphere  of  activity  in  which  Jews  are 
represented  and  to  which  they  have  devoted  themselves 
in  increasing  numbers  since  their  civil  and  political  eman¬ 
cipation,  is  that  comprising  the  liberal  professions  and 
Government  service.  The  special  circumstances  that  have 
favoured  their  advance  in  this  sphere  are  their  concen¬ 
tration  in  towns,  their  comfortable  social  position,  and 
their  thirst  for  higher  education.  It  is  significant  that 
in  Germany,  where  the  Jews  have  attained  such  a  high 
level  of  prosperity  by  means  of  business,  most  of  the  J ewish 
merchants  devote  their  sons  to  the  learned  professions, 
particularly  those  of  law  and  medicine  ;  whilst  in  England 
and  America,  too,  there  is  a  marked  tendency  on  the  part 
of  immigrants  who  have  managed  to  secure  a  competence 
as  shopkeepers  or  artisans,  be  it  as  grocers  or  butchers, 
tailors  or  shoemakers,  to  put  their  sons  into  these  pro¬ 
fessions.  The  pursuit  of  this  tendency,  in  the  face  of  the 
knowledge  that  the  income  from  a  profession  is  more  pre¬ 
carious  than  that  from  business  or  industry,  belies  the 
charge  that  is  often  made,  that  Jews  are  wholly  given  to 
money-making,  and  shows  that  ideal  motives  also  largely 
enter  into  their  choice  of  a  career.  Whilst  the  practice 
of  law  and  medicine  enjoys  the  most  popularity,  an  increas¬ 
ing  number  of  Jews  are  found  in  the  ranks  of  civil  service 
employees,  teachers,  journalists,  artists,  actors,  musicians, 
dentists,  chemists,  and  engineers.  In  Germany  the  per¬ 
centage  of  Jews  in  Government  service  and  the  liberal 
professions  rose  from  6^14  to  6^54  in  the  period  1895-1907, 
whereas  the  percentage  of  the  general  population  in  these 
professions  declined  from  6'22  to  575  in  the  same  period.1 
The  prevalence  of  Anti-Semitism  acts  as  a  check  upon  the 
increase  of  J  ews  in  Government  positions  and  as  university 
professors,  though  the  waters  of  baptism  at  once  remove 
their  only  blemish.  It  is  at  first  sight  surprising  to  find 
that  the  conforming  Jews  of  Germany,  who  form  only 

1  Segall,  pp.  28-30. 


SPHERES  OF  ECONOMIC  ACTIVITY 


203 


1  per  cent  of  the  population,  constitute  i’93  per  cent  of 
the  high  Government  officials  and  2 ‘5  per  cent  of  the 
university  ordinary  professors,1  but  these  proportions  are 
much  below  the  ratio  of  Jews  with  university  education 
to  the  entire  educated  class.  More  significant  is  the  fact 
that  Jews  form  15  per  cent  of  the  lawyers,  and  6  per  cent 
of  the  doctors  in  Germany.  In  Russia,  where  there  are 
hardly  any  Jews  in  Government  positions,  63  per  cent 
are  in  the  liberal  professions  despite  the  severe  restrictions 
for  excluding  them,  but  it  is  probable  that  a  good  propor¬ 
tion  is  made  up  out  of  the  host  of  private  Hebrew  teachers. 
In  Austria  about  7  per  cent,  of  the  Jews  are  in  the  liberal 
professions,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  as  many  as  6  per  cent 
hold  military  positions.  In  Hungary,  Jews  form  I7'9  per 
cent  of  the  authors  and  scholars,  39'6  per  cent  of  the 
journalists,  20  per  cent  of  the  artists  (musicians,  painters, 
etc.),  and  20’i  per  cent  of  the  actors.2  The  most  favour¬ 
able  conditions  in  this  sphere  are  found  in  Italy,  where 
1 8 *67  per  cent  of  the  Jews  are  engaged  in  the  civil  service 
and  the  liberal  professions,  as  compared  with  only  6*42 
per  cent  of  the  general  population.3 

1  Segall,  pp.  45-57. 

2Neue  Judische  Korrespondenz,  13th  January  1913. 

3  Zeitschrift  fur  Stat.  u.  Demographic  der  Juden,  January  1905. 


CHAPTER  II 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 

The  legendary  wealth  of  the  Jew — Material  prosperity  in 
Western  countries — The  poverty  of  the  majority  of  Jewry — The 
distress  in  Russia — Conditions  in  Eastern  Europe  and  the  Orient 


|  ^  HE  legend  of  the  wealth  of  the  J ews  has  persisted 
so  obstinately  for  centuries  that  there  is  little 
wonder  that  it  is  still  accepted  as  a  fact.  It  owes 
its  origin  to  the  prominent  part  they  have  played  as  traders 
in  money  in  the  past,  whether  as  money-lenders,  money¬ 
changers,  or  financiers  ;  and  it  has  been  strengthened  in 
modern  times  by  their  predominance  in  commercial  pur¬ 
suits  in  Western  Europe,  and  their  occasionally  high 
representation  on  the  stock  exchanges.  Two  other 
phenomena  have  contributed  to  the  popular  delusion  : 
the  fabulous  millions  of  the  Rothschilds,  which  are  made 
to  throw  a  reflected  splendour  upon  the  entire  race,  and 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  moneyed  Jews  in  the  plays 
and  novels  of  nearly  every  European  literature,  particu¬ 
larly  of  English  literature,  whose  pages  from  Shakespeare 
to  Hilaire  Belloc  have  been  lavishly  strewn  with  Jewish 
gold.  It  is  probably  this  literary  factor  that  is  responsible 
for  the  first  impression  of  Jewish  wealth  received  in  the 
Christian  world,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  exaggerate 
the  mischief  done  by  the  reading  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice 
in  elementary  schools,  where  the  plastic  minds  of  young 
children  are  impressed  with  the  misunderstood  figure 
of  Shylock  crouching  over  his  ducats.  The  impression 
conceived  in  childhood  grows  into  an  obsession  or  prejudice 
which  is  fostered  later  by  every  circumstance,  however 
trivial,  that  seems  to  agree  with  it,  and  becomes  with  time 


204 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 


205 


more  and  more  difficult  to  eradicate ;  and  its  widespread 
currency  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  causes  of  the  envy 
and  hostility  to  which  the  Jewish  people  is  exposed.  The 
truth  is,  that  there  are  indeed  rich  Jews,  but  they  are 
comparatively  very  few  in  number  ;  the  Jewish  people  in 
the  mass  is  the  poorest  on  earth.  It  is  high  time  that  this 
myth  of  J  ewish  wealth  should  be  exploded  once  for  all,  and 
that  the  terrible  fact  of  Jewish  poverty  be  thoroughly  realized. 

People  in  Western  Europe  or  America,  who  are  familiar 
with  prosperous  Jewish  business  houses  in  their  leading 
cities,  who  are  faced  in  the  newspapers  with  big  Jewish 
donations  at  the  head  of  subscription  lists  for  philanthropic 
causes,  and  who  read  ever  and  again  of  some  handsome 
Jewish  benefaction  for  a  municipal  or  national  object,  may 
perhaps  be  reluctant  to  believe  that  all  these  phenomena 
are  anything  but  tokens  of  bounteous  prosperity.  The 
significance  of  such  phenomena  is  undeniable,  but  they 
must  not  be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  the  people  as  a 
whole  :  they  are  characteristic  only  of  a  very  small  minority. 
The  overwhelming  mass  of  Jewry  has  a  hard  fight  for  mere 
existence  and  is  an  utter  stranger  to  the  comforts  of  life. 
Jews  who  have  been  settled  in  Western  Europe  or  x\merica 
for  at  least  twenty  years  have  for  the  most  part  attained 
a  competence,  if  not  actual  wealth,  and  a  good  proportion 
of  those  settled  there  even  for  not  more  than  ten  years 
have  secured  a  comfortable  livelihood ;  but  the  vast 
majority  of  the  immigrants  of  recent  years  have  to  toil  hard 
and  long  to  make  ends  meet,  and  during  the  earty  period 
of  their  struggle  they  are  partly  dependent  on  charity. 
Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  about  two  or  three  per 
cent,  the  recipients  of  charity  from  the  communal  coffers 
consist  entirely  of  immigrants.  The  political  freedom 
enjoyed  by  the  Jews  in  Western  Europe  during  the  last 
fifty  years  has  greatly  favoured  their  economic  progress, 
and  to  the  same  cause,  operating  much  earlier,  must  be 
attributed  their  general  prosperity  in  America.  But  two 
other  factors  have  played  an  important  part  in  their  material 
advancement  :  their  participation  to  a  great  extent  in 
mercantile  pursuits,  and  to  a  growing  extent  in  professions, 


206 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  their  relatively  small  families.  Not  only  have  they 
a  better  opportunity  of  getting  on  quickly  in  commerce 
than  in  domestic  industries  or  handicrafts,  but  they  are 
able  to  continue  their  activity  to  a  more  advanced  age  ; 
at  sixty  they  are  still  hale  enough  to  reap  the  benefit  of  a 
lifetime’s  experience  in  business  or  to  practise  their  pro¬ 
fession,  whereas  at  that  age,  if  employed  in  a  trade,  they 
would  be  bent  and  broken  and  have  to  lay  down  their  tools. 
The  smallness  of  most  of  the  native  Jewish  families  in  the 
Western  world  places  a  comparatively  lighter  burden  upon 
the  father  than  in  Eastern  Europe,  where  a  family  with 
eight  or  ten  children  is  quite  normal ;  not  only  has  the 
father  fewer  to  support  but  his  support  is  needed  for  a 
shorter  period.  And  an  additional  circumstance  which 
is  of  no  small  significance  when  regarded  in  the  light  of 
conditions  in  Eastern  Europe,  is  that  the  Jew  in  the  West, 
for  the  most  part,  does  not  allow  himself  to  be  interrupted 
by  the  Sabbath  in  the  pursuit  of  his  business. 

There  are  no  statistics  to  illustrate  the  comparative 
wealth  of  the  Jewish  communities  in  Western  countries, 
but  such  figures  as  we  have  show  that  the  Jews  in  Germany 
have  reached  a  high  level  of  prosperity.  The  proportion 
of  independent  Jews  without  a  profession  in  that  country 
increased  from  1673  per  cent  to  19*24  per  cent  in  the 
period  1895-1907. 1  Professor  Sombart  has  compiled  a  list 
of  thirty  towns  in  Germany,  several  of  them  large  and  im¬ 
portant,  in  which  the  percentage  of  the  total  income-tax 
revenue  contributed  by  the  Jews  is  considerably  higher 
than  their  percentage  of  the  local  population.2  Thus,  in 
Berlin  they  form  only  5-06  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants,  but 
contribute  30*77  per  cent  of  the  income-tax  revenue  ;  in 
Mannheim  they  form  only  3-21  per  cent  of  the  population, 
but  contribute  28*66  per  cent  of  the  income-tax  revenue  ; 
in  Posen  the  figures  are  4*21  and  24*02  per  cent  respectively, 
in  Gleiwitz  3*20  and  23*90  per  cent,  in  Beuthen  4*04  and 
26*90  per  cent,  in  Bromberg  2*79  and  13*73  per  cent, 
and  in  Karlsruhe  1*91  and  11-67  Per  cent.  In  Breslau 

1  Segall,  p.  30. 

2  Die  Juden  und  das  Wirtschaftsleben,  p.  219. 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 


207 


the  Jews  form  only  4*3  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants,  but 
they  own  203  per  cent  of  the  total  income  of  the  tax¬ 
payers,  and  in  Frankfort-on-the-Maine,  where  they  con¬ 
stitute  7  per  cent  of  the  population,  they  possess  20*8  per 
cent  of  the  total  income  of  the  tax-payers.  These  figures 
manifestly  show  that  the  Jews  in  the  towns  investigated 
are  much  more  prosperous  than  their  non- Jewish  neighbours, 
but  the  Jewish  population  of  all  these  towns  is  rather  less 
than  half  of  the  total  Jewish  population  in  Germany,  and 
there  is  no  indication  of  similar  wealth  in  the  communities 
not  examined.  On  the  contrary,  there  are  a  large  number 
of  communities  in  Eastern  Germany  which  have  a  struggle 
to  defray  their  congregational  requirements.  The  con¬ 
ditions  in  Austria  are  by  no  means  as  favourable  as  in 
Germany,  for  two-thirds  of  the  Jews  are  concentrated 
in  Galicia,  which  is  within  the  poverty  zone  of  Jewry. 
According  to  Dr.  Zollschan,1  one-third  of  the  business  men 
can  with  difficulty  meet  their  bills  on  settlement-day  ;  only 
a  very  small  proportion  of  the  Jews  in  Vienna  can  pay  even 
the  lowest '  synagogue-tax  ;  and  the  J  ewish  population  of 
Moravia  declined  from  44,175  to  41,158  in  the  period 
1880-1910,  corresponding  to  a  fall  from  2*05  per  cent  to 
1 36  per  cent  of  the  general  population,  a  sure  indication 
of  diminishing  welfare.  The  conditions  are  rather  better 
in  Italy,  where  the  percentage  of  Jews  with  independent 
means  is  9^26,  as  compared  with  only  2 ‘86  per  cent  among 
the  Christian  population. 

But  the  vast  regions  containing  more  than  two-thirds  of 
the  world’s  Jewry,  Eastern  Europe,  Western  Asia,  and 
Northern  Africa,  present  a  spectacle  of  material  distress 
that  almost  baffles  description.  They  are  industrially 
undeveloped  regions,  in  which  nine-tenths  of  the  Jews  just 
manage  to  eke  out  a  wretched,  poverty-stricken  existence. 
In  the  swarming  communities  of  Eastern  Europe  there  are 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  J  ews  who  scrape  a  mere  pittance 
together  as  hawkers,  pedlars,  or  petty  shopkeepers,  and 
whose  pale,  hungry-looking  features  tell  a  tale  of  constant 
gnawing  care  or  betray  the  fear  of  an  impending  doom.  In 

1  Das  Rassenproblem,  p.  442. 


208 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Russia  and  Rumania,  which  together  count  more  than  six 
million  Jews,  the  principal  cause  of  the  widespread  misery  is 
the  elaborate  code  of  mediaeval  laws,  growing  in  number  and 
severity  every  year,  which  restrict  their  residence  to  par¬ 
ticular  localities  and  hinder  them  in  the  free  choice  and 
exercise  of  trades  and  professions  ;  and  the  inevitable 
congestion  in  the  towns  produces  an  overcrowded  labour- 
market  and  ruinous  competition.  In  Galicia  there  is  a 
similar  congestion  in  the  towns  with  similar  economic  results, 
whilst  the  permanent  distress  produced  by  the  dearth  of 
industries  was  accentuated  a  couple  of  years  ago  by  the 
new  laws  which  suddenly  reduced  the  number  of  licences  of 
innkeepers  and  pedlars  and  plunged  thousands  of  Jews  into 
ruin.  But  in  addition  to  the  industrial  drawbacks  and  legal 
oppression  in  these  countries,  supplemented  by  an  economic 
boycott  in  Poland,  the  Jews,  both  in  Eastern  Europe  as  well 
as  in  the  lands  of  the  Orient  proper,  are  exposed  to  a  recurring 
cycle  of  disasters  and  catastrophes  which  seem  to  operate 
almost  with  the  regularity  of  the  laws  of  nature.  A  cursory 
review  of  the  events  of  the  last  ten  years  will  suffice  to  show 
with  what  surreptitious  and  destructive  forces  the  Jews 
have  to  fight  apart  from  their  ordinary  foes.  In  Russia  they 
have  had  to  suffer  from  the  war  with  Japan,  from  the 
Revolution,  and  from  the  unparalleled  outbreak  of  pogroms. 
In  Rumania  they  have  been  victims  of  the  Agrarian  Revolt 
of  1907  and  of  periodical  outrages.  In  Tripoli  they  have  had 
to  suffer  in  the  war  between  Italy  and  Turkey,  and  in  all  the 
Balkan  countries  in  the  various  wars  between  Turkey  and 
the  Allies  and  between  the  Allies  themselves,  whilst  the 
war-panic  of  several  months’  duration  in  Austria  sufficed  to 
bring  ruin  upon  thousands  of  families  in  Galicia.  Civil  war 
in  Morocco,  Persia,  and  the  Yemen  claimed  the  Jews  as  its 
easiest  and  most  numerous  victims ;  fire,  earthquake,  and 
pestilence  have  desolated  countless  homes  in  Turkey  ;  and 
famine  has  afflicted  the  pious  believers  in  Palestine.  With 
such  a  catalogue  of  misfortunes  the  wonder  is  not  that  the 
Jews  cannot  attain  even  the  shadow  of  prosperity,  but  that 
they  manage  to  exist  at  all.  And  despite  all  these  fatal 
obstacles  to  material  welfare,  they  bravely  uphold  the 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 


209 


sanctity  of  the  Sabbath  and  rest  two  days  in  the  week, 
whereon  they  are  able  to  reflect  longer  upon  the  mysteries 
of  Providence. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  the  poverty  in  Russia  was 
vividly  brought  home  by  an  investigation  conducted  by 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  in  1898.  The  object  of 
the  investigation  was  to  ascertain  how  many  Jews  received 
charitable  aid  to  enable  them  to  observe  the  Passover,  the 
most  costly  of  the  religious  festivals,  which  necessitates  the 
purchase  of  unleavened  bread  and  other  special  preparations. 
The  amount  of  assistance  usually  given  is  small,  sometimes 
only  75  kopecks  (is.  6d.),  and  seldom  exceeding  3  roubles 
(6s.),  so  that  only  those  in  real  need  would  apply  for  it. 
The  investigation  elicited  that  of  700,000  families  living  in 
more  than  1200  localities,  132,855  families — almost  19  per 
cent — received  such  assistance.  The  group  of  persons 
represented  by  this  number  equals  nearly  one-fifth  of  the 
Jewish  population  of  the  Pale  and  comprises  members  of 
all  occupations.  From  1894  to  1898  the  families  aided  in¬ 
creased  from  85,183  to  108,922,  an  increase  of  27*9  per  cent. 
That  such  a  large  proportion  are  dependent  on  charity 
can  be  readily  understood  when  we  examine  the  rate  of 
wages.  Tailoring,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  principal  industry, 
and  a  tailor  who  works  an  average  of  14  hours  per  day 
earns  only  125  to  150  roubles  (£12, 10s.  to  £15)  a  year,  whilst 
the  normal  family  budget  in  a  small  town  is  estimated  at 
300  roubles  (£30).  Even  in  the  brush-making  trade,  the 
best  organized  industry  in  the  Pale,  the  maximum  wage 
ranges  from  5  to  8  roubles  (10s.  to  16s.),  and  the  minimum 
from  5*25  roubles  to  75  kopecks  (10s.  6d.  to  is.  6d.)  1 ;  but 
even  this  income  was  not  constant,  for  the  weeks  of  regular 
employment  varied  from  46  to  25.  Throughout  the  Pale 
6  or  8  roubles  a  week  are  considered  a  very  fair  wage,  but 
the  ordinary  wage  is  probably  nearer  5  roubles  (10s.).2 
The  cost  of  living  for  the  Jew  is  also  greater  than  for  the 
Christian,  as  he  must  pay  more  for  kosher  meat,  provide  for 
the  Hebrew  education  of  his  children,  and  observe  the 

1  Report  to  International  Socialist  Congress,  Paris,  1900. 

2  Rubinow,  Economic  Conditions  of  Jews  in  Russia. 

14 


210 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Sabbaths  and  festivals  with  something  better  than  the 
ordinary  fare  of  the  week.  The  general  poverty  of  the  masses 
reacts  unfavourably  upon  the  earnings  of  the  professional 
classes,  in  which  there  is  an  over-supply  of  lawyers,  doctors, 
and  teachers,  who  make  up  an  intellectual  proletariat. 
Many  graduate  lawyers  are  forced  to  remain  bank  clerks  at 
twenty  shillings  a  week,  and  it  is  not  unusual  for  doctors  to 
receive  fees  varying  from  7-Jd.  to  iod.  for  a  visit  at  a  patient’s 
house.  The  scantiness  of  the  earnings  of  J ewish  physicians 
is  shown  by  their  eagerness  to  obtain  appointments  in  the 
service  of  the  municipal  or  county  authorities  [zemstvos),  the 
salary  for  which  does  not  exceed  £100  to  £120  a  year. 
Cases  of  religious  conversion  in  Russia  are  more  frequent 
among  the  intellectual  and  professional  classes  than  among 
the  rest  of  the  population,  not  only  because  the  ties  of  faith 
are  weaker  but  because  the  prospects  of  material  reward  are 
greater.  But  despite  the  bad  economic  conditions  there  are 
comparatively  few  confirmed  paupers  in  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munity,  that  is,  people  who  can  but  will  not  work  and  who 
live  entirely  by  charity.  If  a  Jew  cannot  succeed  in  one 
calling  he  promptly  adopts  another,  and  he  is  a  veritable 
“  quick-change  artist  ”  in  the  variety  of  his  vocations.  He 
is  a  pedlar,  teacher,  commission  agent,  precentor,  and 
marriage-broker,  by  turns,  regularly  consoling  himself  with 
the  thought  that  “  God  will  help,”  and  invariably  ready  to 
help  his  neighbour.  It  is  in  regard  to  existences  such  as 
these  that  Dr.  Max  Nordau  coined  the  expression  Luft- 
menschen,  people  whose  only  apparent  means  of  subsistence 
is  the  air  they  breathe. 

A  particularly  distressing  picture  of  the  Jews  in  Odessa 
was  revealed  by  Brodowski  some  years  ago.1  In  1899  there 
were  8500  families,  comprising  48,500  souls,  or  one- third  of 
the  Jewish  population,  who  lived  in  such  abject  poverty 
that  they  depended  upon  a  free  grant  of  120  to  160  lb.  coal 
for  the  entire  winter  and  40  lb.  of  matzos  for  the  eight 
days  of  Passover — for  a  family  of  eight  !  About  another 
30,000  persons  were  also  on  the  verge  of  sinking  into  this 
category,  so  that  over  half  of  the  Jews  in  Odessa  lived  in 

1  Jiidische  Statistik,  pp.  287-292. 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 


211 


dire  poverty.  Of  60,000  patients  in  the  hospitals  nearly 
33,000  were  Jews,  although  these  formed  only  a  third  of  the 
population.  On  the  average  63  per  cent  of  the  dead  had  to 
be  buried  free,  and  a  further  20  per  cent  at  the  lowest  rates. 
Odessa  has  the  largest  clothing  industry  in  Russia,  but  the 
supply  of  labour  was  greater  than  the  demand,  and  tailors 
could  earn  very  little.  Shoemakers  were  reported  to  earn 
from  3s.  6d.  to  7s.  a  week,  whilst  other  artisans,  such  as 
joiners,  plumbers,  and  painters,  earned  as  much  as  50s.  a 
month  and  refrained  from  taking  charity.  Dealers  in  old 
clothes  earned  only  40s.  a  month,  but  to  get  together  their 
stock  they  had  often  to  borrow  10s.  in  the  morning  and 
return  it  with  6d.  interest  in  the  evening.  In  the  cigarette 
factories  women  competed  with  men,  who  had  to  be  content 
with  an  average  wage  of  20s.  a  month.  Seamstresses  earned 
only  a  penny  for  sewing  a  shirt  and  a  halfpenny  for  a  pair  of 
drawers,  whilst  little  children  helped  towards  keeping  them¬ 
selves  alive  by  sewing  buttons  and  hooks  on  cards  for  i^d. 
a  day.  About  two-thirds  of  the  dwellings  were  damp  ; 
most  of  the  poor  Jews  lived  in  cellar  hovels  where  a  wretched 
lamp  burned  by  day  and  night,  and  in  many  cases  two  or 
three  families  lived  in  a  single  room.  Were  it  not  for  the 
charity  received  from  their  own  brethren  the  poor  Jews  of 
Odessa,  as  of  the  rest  of  Russia,  would  be  unable  to  exist  at 
all ;  but  although  the  Russian  Government  compels  the 
Jewish  communities  to  support  their  own  poor  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  a  special  tax  (levied  principally  on  kosher  meat), 
the  local  authorities  have  the  control  of  this  revenue  and 
allow  the  communities  only  so  much  as  they  deem  sufficient 
for  an  economic  budget,  the  balance  being  kept  for  the  public 
treasury. 

In  Galicia  and  Rumania  the  conditions  are  little  better 
than  in  Russia,  but  the  outlook  is  not  so  dismal.  Although 
the  Jews  form  only  11*09  Per  cen*  population  in 

Galicia  they  comprise  44*8  per  cent  of  those  without  any 
fixed  occupation,  an  index  of  distress  that  requires  little 
commentary.  But  their  position  on  the  whole  is  not  so 
bad  as  that  of  the  general  population,  as  in  all  the  towns 
of  Galicia,  except  Cracow,  they  contain  a  larger  proportion 


212 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


than  the  Christians  of  those  who  pay  an  income-tax  of 
ioo  Kronen  (£4)  or  more.1  But  the  misery  in  the  countries 
of  the  Orient  is  much  more  appalling.  In  Tripoli  two-thirds 
of  the  Jews  live  in  utter  penury,  and  even  the  rest  have 
no  sure  means  of  subsistence,  whilst  in  Algeria  68  per 
cent  are  poor  and  depend  on  charity,  30  per  cent  are 
well-to-do  with  a  daily  income  of  at  least  a  franc,  and 
only  2  per  cent  have  independent  means.2  In  Palestine, 
where  in  1880  as  many  as  30,000  of  the  35,000  Jews  lived 
wholly  or  mainly  upon  the  charity  received  from  their 
brethren  abroad  (the  Chaluka),  the  economic  situation 
has  since  considerably  improved,  but  there  are  now  still 
55,000  out  of  an  increased  population  of  100,000  who  are 
solely  dependent  upon  this  means  of  subsistence.3  The 
prospects  in  Palestine,  as  shown  by  the  continued  im¬ 
provement  of  the  last  decade,  are  hopeful ;  but  the  same 
cannot  be  said  of  the  near  future  in  Eastern  Europe.  Dr. 
Ruppin,  writing  at  the  beginning  of  1911,  predicted  that 
there  would  be  an  advance  in  the  economic  position  of 
the  J ews  in  Eastern  Europe  during  the  next  few  decades  4 ; 
but  the  events  of  the  three  years  that  have  since  elapsed 
certainly  give  no  ground  for  such  optimism.  He  refers 
to  an  increasing  penetration  of  the  Jews  from  the  Pale 
of  Settlement  to  other  parts  of  Russia,  but  the  last  few 
years  have  witnessed  a  contrary  movement — a  systematic 
driving  of  the  Jews  long  settled  outside  the  Pale  back 
to  its  cheerless  confines.  Their  commercial  depression  in 
1912  was  quite  epidemic  in  character  :  from  15th  November 
1911  to  15th  November  1912  there  were  2003  business 
failures  in  388  towns,  involving  a  clear  loss  of  170,308,238 
roubles  (about  £17, 030, 823). 5  The  recent  economic  legisla¬ 
tion  in  Rumania  and  Galicia  has  also  been  the  reverse 
of  beneficial  to  the  position  of  the  Jews,  whilst  the  effect 
of  the  war  in  the  Balkans  will  not  be  effaced  for  many 


1  Dr.  J.  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesteneich,  p.  136. 

2  I.  Zollschan,  Das  Rassenproblem,  p.  459. 

3  Dr.  E.  Auerbach,  Palaestina  als  Judenland,  p.  13. 

4  Die  Juden  der  Gegenwart,  p.  66. 

5  Zeitschrift  filr  Demographie  dev  Juden,  1913,  p.  92. 


RICHES  AND  POVERTY 


213 


years.1  The  only  avenue  of  immediate  relief  open  to  the 
Jews  in  the  large  misery-stricken  zone  of  the  East  is 
migration,  to  which  all  who  can  scrape  together  the 
necessary  fare  are  betaking  themselves  in  hundreds  of 
thousands  every  year.  But  the  flow  of  emigration  does 
not  relieve  the  pressure  at  home  to  any  notable  extent, 
as  the  diminution  of  producers  is  accompanied  by  a 
simultaneous  decline  of  consumers,  so  that  in  the  self- 
contained  economic  life  of  the  Jews,  the  resultant  position 
is  pretty  much  the  same  as  before. 

1  It  is  significant  of  the  economic  depression  caused  by  the  Balkan  War 
that  in  the  Jewish  community  of  Budapest  the  communal  taxes  in  the 
year  1 91 2-1 3  produced  155,000  crowns  less  than  had  been  estimated, 
and  that  in  Constantinople  the  receipts  from  the  tax  on  kosher  meat  were 
reduced  by  more  than  half  (by  30,000-40,000  francs),  necessitating  the 
closing  of  the  Rabbinical  Seminary  ( Jewish  Chronicle,  20th  June  1913, 
p.  15).  The  Budapest  community  has  been  compelled  to  raise  the 
communal  taxes,  whereupon  many  members  of  the  so-called  “  assimi¬ 
lated  ”  class  have  seceded  {Die  Welt,  17th  July  1914). 


CHAPTER  III 


MIGRATIONS 

The  vastness  of  Jewish  migration — Extent  of  immigration  into 
the  United  States  —  Character  of  emigration  —  Occupation  of 
immigrants — Material  position — Immigration  into  other  lands — 
The  hardships  of  emigration  ' 

THE  vast  migration  of  the  Jews  from  Eastern  Europe 
during  the  last  thirty  years  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  events  not  only  in  modern  history  but  in 
the  entire  history  of  the  Jews.  It  can  compare  in  charac¬ 
ter  with  their  dispersion  from  Palestine  in  the  first  century, 
and  surpasses  in  point  of  numbers  even  their  expulsion 
from  Spain  in  1492.  The  principal  land  to  which  they 
have  flocked  in  quest  of  a  refuge  from  persecution  and 
distress  is  the  United  States  of  America,  in  which  over 
two  and  a  quarter  million  have  settled  since  1880.  The 
other  lands  of  refuge,  England,  Canada,  Argentine,  South 
Africa,  and  Australia,  as  well  as  the  western  countries 
of  the  European  Continent,  Egypt,  and  Palestine,  have 
also  received  since  that  year,  upon  a  moderate  com¬ 
putation,  half  a  million  Jews  ;  so  that  in  all  2,750,000 
Jews,  or  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  entire  Jewish  popula¬ 
tion  in  the  world,  have  permanently  transplanted  their 
homes  to  other  lands  during  the  last  thirty  years.1  Until 
1881  the  volume  of  migration  was  comparatively  small. 
In  the  fifty  years  from  1821  to  1870  only  7550  Jews  from 
Russia  entered  the  United  States,  though  in  the  next 
decade  the  total  amounted  to  41, 057. 2  But  it  was  not 
until  1881,  when  the  Jews  were  overwhelmed  by  the 

1  See  Appendix  on  Immigration  to  North  America. 

2  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  viii.  p.  584. 

214 


MIGRATIONS 


215 


first  epidemic  of  pogroms,  burdened  by  oppressive  laws, 
and  faced  by  economic  misery,  that  the  stream  of  migration 
to  the  havens  of  liberty  began  to  swell  into  full  tide. 

The  immigration  into  the  United  States,  which  forms 
about  four-fifths  of  the  total  current,  is  deserving  of  some 
detailed  examination.  From  1st  July  1880  to  30th  June 
1912  the  number  of  Jews  of  all  regions  who  settled  in 
this  country  was  2,258,146,  of  whom  1,357,123,  or  60  per 
cent,  came  from  Russia  alone.  The  exact  numbers  from 
other  countries  who  migrated  to  the  United  States  in 
this  period  are  not  known,  as  until  1898  only  the  immigrants 
from  Russia  were  separately  recorded,  whilst  all  the  rest 
were  simply  put  down  as  “  from  other  countries  ”  ;  but  in 
the  ten  years,  1898-1908,  in  which  Jewish  immigration 
reached  its  maximum  point  (932,631),  Russia  contributed 
71*47  per  cent,  Austria-Hungary  17*07  per  cent,  and 
Rumania  5*55  per  cent,  whilst  5*91  per  cent  came 
from  other  countries.  The  rise  and  fall  of  the  immigration 
from  Russia  clearly  reflects  the  conditions  of  the  time,  the 
years  of  the  pogroms  showing  a  higher  figure  than  either 
the  year  before  or  after.  Thus  in  1880-81  there  were 
8193  immigrants  from  that  country ;  in  1881-82,  the 
year  of  riots  and  the  notorious  May  Laws,  the  number 
rose  to  17,497,  but  in  the  following  twelve  months  it  fell 
to  6907.  Similarly,  in  1890-91  the  number  was  42,145, 
rising  to  76,41 7  in  the  following  pogrom-stricken  year, 
and  falling  to  35,626  in  the  year  1892-93.  Again,  in 

1904- 05  the  number  of  immigrants  from  Russia  was  92,388, 
rising  in  the  next  two  years  to  the  highest  figures  on 
record,  125,234  in  1905-06  and  114,932  in  1906-07,  and 
dropping  again  in  1907-08  to  71,978.  The  total  number  of 
Jews  who  entered  the  United  States  in  the  two  years 

1905- 07  was  302,930,  which  exceeds  the  accepted  estimate 
of  the  number  who  were  expelled  from  Spain  over  four 
centuries  ago,  namely,  300,000.  The  percentage  of 
Jewish  immigrants  contributed  by  Russia  to  this  country 
since  1898  has  fluctuated  between  6o*8  and  81*4,  the 
maximum  being  reached  in  the  memorable  year  1905-06. 
Austria-Hungary  has  contributed  193,587  Jews  from 


2l6 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


1898  to  1 91 1,  probably  nine-tenths  coming  from  Galicia 
alone.  The  emigration  from  Rumania  first  assumed 
serious  dimensions  in  1899,  upon  a  tightening  of  the 
screw  of  anti- Jewish  legislation.  According  to  the  report 
of  the  Rumanian  Minister  of  the  Interior  ( Moniteur 
Officiel,  13th  August  1906),  the  number  of  Jews  who  emi¬ 
grated  from  the  country  in  1899-1905  was  55,000,  of  which 
about  40,000  went  to  the  United  States  ;  and  as  according 
to  the  American  Immigration  authorities  57,015  Jews 
from  Rumania  settled  in  the  United  States  between 
1898  and  1911,  we  may  fairly  assume  that  about  80,000 
Jews  in  all  left  Rumania  in  that  period  for  various  parts. 
The  percentage  which  the  Jews  have  formed  of  the  total 
body  of  immigration  into  <f  the  land  of  the  almighty  dollar  ” 
has  fluctuated  in  recent  years  between  8  and  16,  whilst 
for  the  period  1880-1912  the  annual  average  was  ii‘6  per 
cent.  The  highest  proportion  was  26^1  per  cent  in  1894-95. 
The  ceaseless  tide  of  immigration  has  naturally  resulted 
in  a  rapid  increase  of  the  Jewish  population.  In  1848 
the  Jews  in  the  United  States  numbered  only  50,000, 
in  1880  there  were  200,000,  and  in  1888  already  400,000, 
whilst  they  steadily  rose  to  937,800  in  1897,  to  1,136,240 
in  1902,  to  1,777,185  in  1907,  and  to  2,044,762  in  1910. 

The  migration  of  the  Jews  has  a  distinctive  character 
of  its  own.  Among  other  nations  it  is  only  the  young  and 
individual  male  members  of  the  family  who  leave  their 
native  country  to  seek  their  fortune  in  other  climes,  and 
they  generally  go  forth  with  the  intention  of  returning 
home,  or  at  least  revisiting  it,  after  they  have  amassed 
some  wealth.  Among  the  J ews  it  is  not  young  or  individual 
or  male  members  of  the  family  who  emigrate,  but  entire 
families,  men  and  women,  old  and  young,  grandparents 
and  sucklings  ;  they  leave  their  native  soil  not  to  seek  any 
fortune  but  simply  a  modest  living  in  peace  and  security ; 
and  they  do  not  go  forth  with  any  intention  of  returning 
home,  for  they  sell  up  their  home  before  they  leave,  deter¬ 
mined — though  the  resolve  is  not  without  a  pang — not 
to  retrace  their  steps  to  a  land  charged  with  bitter  memories. 
The  proportion  of  women  and  girls  to  men  and  boys  among 


MIGRATIONS 


217 


the  Jewish  immigrants  to  America  is  the  relation  of  46  to 
54  per  cent,  a  much  higher  proportion  than  among  other 
nationalities.  Thus,  for  every  1000  males  of  the  general 
body  of  immigrants  there  were  382  females  in  1906-07, 
and  544  in  1907-08  ;  whereas  for  every  1000  males  in  the 
Jewish  group  there  were  852  females  in  1906-07  and  837 
in  1907-08.  Another  striking  feature  is  that  children 
form  about  one-fourth  of  the  Jewish  immigrants.  The 
American  Immigration  Commissioners  divide  all  arrivals 
into  three  classes  as  regards  age — (a)  those  under  fourteen 
years,  (b)  those  between  fourteen  and  forty-five  years,  and 
(c)  those  over  forty-five.  By  far  the  greater  portion  of 
Jewish  immigrants  belong  to  the  middle  class,  the  able- 
bodied  and  wage-earning  section,  which  varied  from  65 
to  73  per  cent  of  the  total  group  of  Jewish  arrivals 
in  the  period  1898-1911,  though  in  the  general  body  of 
immigrants  this  class  generally  forms  80  per  cent.  In  this 
same  period  the  proportion  of  the  children  among  Jews 
fluctuated  between  21  and  28  per  cent,  whilst  those  above 
forty-five  years  of  age  only  formed  from  4  to  7  per  cent. 
In  most  cases  the  father  of  the  family  sets  out  for  the  new 
land  first,  and  as  soon  as  he  has  established  a  firm  footing 
there  and  saved  something  he  sends  steamship  tickets 
home  for  his  wife  and  children  or  other  relatives.  In  the 
calendar  year  1912  the  total  of  64,738  Jewish  immigrants 
comprised  9124  families,  6526  consisting  of  wives  and 
children  come  to  join  husbands  and  fathers  who  had 
already  **  made  good,”  as  the  American  expression  is, 
and  the  remaining  2598  being  complete  families. 

Of  the  two  and  a  quarter  million  Jews  who  have  entered 
America  during  the  last  thirty  years  only  a  small  fraction 
has  again  left  the  country,  unlike  the  Italians,  who,  after 
saving  up  for  twenty  years  or  more,  return  to  spend  their 
fortune  in  their  native  land.  Thus,  in  1909-10  the  Jews 
formed  only  675  per  cent  of  the  immigrants  who  left 
America,  and  7*01  per  cent  in  1910-11,  whilst  the  Italians 
formed  247  per  cent  in  the  former  and  40’i2  per  cent 
in  the  latter  year.  Even  in  1907-08,  the  years  of  economic 
depression,  when  387,371  non- Jewish  immigrants  left  the 


21 8  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


country,  only  7702  Jews  joined  them,  forming  7*44  per 
cent,  whilst  the  Italians  constituted  423  per  cent. 
Similarly  the  Jews  form  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
immigrants  who  have  already  been  in  the  country  once 
before,  the  “  birds  of  passage,”  as  they  are  technically 
called.  In  1908-09  only  439  per  cent  of  the  Jewish 
immigrants  were  “  birds  of  passage,”  whereas  the  pro¬ 
portion  was  nearly  five  times  as  high,  21*19  per  cent, 
among  the  general  body  of  immigrants. 

There  are  also  distinctive  characteristics  attaching  to 
the  Jewish  immigrants  into  America  in  respect  of  occupa¬ 
tions.  In  the  period  1889-1911,  *70  per  cent  belonged  to 
the  liberal  professions,  37*3  per  cent  were  skilled  artisans, 
17*2  per  cent  belonged  to  varied  occupations,  whilst  those 
without  any  occupation  formed  the  apparently  high 
proportion  of  44*8  per  cent.  Teachers  (29*6  per  cent) 
and  musicians  (21*3  per  cent)  provide  half  of  the  group 
of  liberal  professions,  among  which  authors,  journalists, 
engineers,  doctors,  scholars,  and  scientists  are  also  included. 
The  proportion  of  the  representatives  of  science,  art,  and 
literature  among  the  emigrants  from  Russia  is  twelve 
times  as  great  as  their  ratio  to  the  Jewish  population  : 
thus  is  the  people  robbed  of  its  teachers  and  thinkers.1 
Of  the  thirty  nationalities  that  flooded  into  America  in 
1910-11  the  Jews  showed  the  highest  percentage  of  skilled 
artisans,  42*9,  and  the  lowest  percentage  of  members  of 
varied  occupations,  14*4 — a  sufficient  testimony  to  their 
economic  worth.2  It  is  furthermore  notable  that  in  the 
period  1889-1911  the  Jewish  contingent  of  American 
immigration  provided  52*91  per  cent  of  all  the  skilled 
artisans,  whilst  19*87  per  cent  of  that  contingent  con¬ 
sisted  of  men  and  women  engaged  in  the  various  branches 
of  the  clothing  industry,  as  tailors,  seamstresses,  milliners, 
capmakers,  and  furriers.  The  two  other  skilled  trades 
largely  represented  are  shoemaking  and  cabinetmaking. 
On  the  other  hand,  business  men  and  shopkeepers  form  a 
very  low  proportion  :  in  the  period  1889-1911  they  only 

VW.  W.  Kaplun-Kogan,  Die  Wanderbewegungen  der  Juden,  pp.  135-7. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  133. 


MIGRATIONS 


219 


averaged  4*6  per  cent  per  annum.  The  obvious  reason 
for  their  paucity  is  that  they  have  not  such  good  prospects 
as  artisans  in  a  land  whose  language  and  general  conditions 
are  strange  to  them  ;  they  cannot  take  their  business 
and  goodwill  with  them,  whereas  an  artisan  has  only  to 
take  his  skill  with  him.  The  apparently  large  percentage 
of  Jewish  immigrants  without  any  occupation,  44' 8,  is 
naturally  due  to  the  high  proportion  of  children  and  non- 
employed  women  which  they  comprise,  but  if  we  eliminate 
these  two  classes  the  percentage  of  those  without  a 
vocation  is  found  to  vary  only  between  1175  and  18*25 
per  cent  in  the  entire  period  1889-1911.1 

In  one  respect  only  does  the  Jewish  compare  unfavour¬ 
ably  with  the  non- Jewish  immigrant,  namely,  in  respect 
of  his  financial  position.  In  the  entire  period  1899-1911 
the  average  amount  per  head  brought  by  the  Jewish 
immigrants  to  America  fluctuated  between  7*30  and  21*5 
dollars,  whilst  that  brought  by  the  general  body  of  immi¬ 
grants  fluctuated  between  15  and  33*4  dollars.  In  no 
year  was  the  average  amount  brought  by  a  Jewish  immi¬ 
grant  even  equal  to  the  average  of  the  general  body.  This 
poor  monetary  equipment  is  largely  due  to  the  big  pro¬ 
portion  which  children  and  married  women  form  of 
the  Jewish  contingent  :  in  the  first  place,  the  Jews  spend 
more  of  their  scanty  fortune  upon  the  passage  of  their 
families,  and,  secondly,  the  aggregate  amount  of  money 
brought  by  them  is  divided  by  the  entire  number  of  immi¬ 
grants — men,  women,  and  children.  In  the  period  1899- 
1911  only  an  average  of  5  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  immigrants 
had  50  dollars  or  more,  whilst  in  1909-10  29*4  per  cent 
had  less  than  50  dollars,  and  63*8  per  cent  had  nothing  at 
all.  Even  if  we  deduct  the  children  from  the  calculation 
we  still  find  that  25  to  30  per  cent  of  the  Jewish  immigrants 
are  without  means.3  The  past  year  (1912),  however,  has 
shown  a  considerable  improvement,  as  the  total  amount 
brought  by  them  was  1,750,952  dollars,  which  is  equivalent 
to  a  little  over  27*04  dollars  per  head  ;  and  if  we  deducted 

1  W.  W.  Kaplun-Kogan,  Die  Wanderbewegungen  der  Juden,  p.  133. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  132. 


220 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  6526  families  that  came  to  join  husbands  and  parents 
the  amount  per  head  would  even  be  45*29  dollars.1  But 
this  rise  signifies  not  so  much  an  improvement  in  the 
general  position  of  the  Russian  or  Galician  Jew  as  an 
increased  severity  of  the  commissioners  in  applying  the 
immigration  regulations.  The  total  monetary  value  of 
the  Jewish  immigrants  in  1912  has  been  estimated  at 
seven  million  dollars,  which  includes  the  cost  of  steamship 
and  railroad  transport,  money  in  hand,  head-tax,  luggage- 
transport,  etc. — and  which  shows  the  amount  of  capital  of 
which  Russia  deprives  itself  in  a  single  year. 

The  influx  of  Jews  into  other  countries  is  numerically 
much  inferior  to  the  immigration  into  the  United  States, 
but  it  is  in  every  case  of  importance  as  contributing  to 
the  local  population  a  working-class  element  attached  for 
the  most  part  to  religious  traditions.  Second  in  point  of 
favour  to  America  is  England,  but  the  exact  extent  of 
Jewish  immigration  cannot  be  ascertained,  as  the  official 
statistics  do  not  register  the  religion  or  nationality  of 
immigrants  but  only  their  land  of  origin,  and  a  good  pro¬ 
portion  are  included  among  them  who  are  merely  trans¬ 
migrants,  that  is,  who  make  a  brief  stay  in  England  prior 
to  continuing  their  voyage  to  America,  South  Africa,  or 
Australia.  Dr.  Ruppin  estimates  that  190,000  Jews  settled 
in  England  in  1881-1908,  but  this  is  obviously  an  over¬ 
estimate,  as  the  present  Jewish  population  is  probably 
not  more  than  270,000,  and  as  there  were  only  60,000 
Jews  in  1880, 2  no  allowance  is  made  for  the  natural  incre¬ 
ment  during  the  last  thirty  years.  We  shall,  therefore, 
not  be  far  wrong  in  estimating  the  number  of  immigrants 
since  1881  at  150,000,  80  per  cent  of  whom  have  come 
from  Russia.  Of  the  other  English-speaking  countries 
Canada  has  probably  received  65,000,  South  Africa  35,000, 
and  Australasia  3000,  whilst  the  Argentine  has  probably 
admitted  40,000,  Germany  45,000,  France  60,000,  Belgium 
10,000,  Egypt  25,000,  and  Palestine  40,000.  Apart  from  all 

1  Report  of  the  Hebrew  Sheltering  and  Immigrant  Aid  Society  for  1912, 
New  York. 

2  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  v.  p.  174. 


MIGRATIONS 


221 


these  countries  smaller  settlements  of  Russian,  Rumanian, 
and  Galician  Jews  have  also  been  formed  during  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  in  Holland,  Scandinavia,  Denmark,  and 
Switzerland. 

These  ceaseless  wanderings  of  Israel  in  search  of  a 
home  are  accompanied  by  countless  hardships.  Russia,  like 
Egypt  of  old,  will  not  let  the  people  go — without  a  passport, 
the  purchase  of  which  involves  repeated  delaj/s  and  a  fee 
that  is  not  always  within  the  means  of  the  would-be 
emigrant :  hence  dozens  are  smuggled  over  the  frontier  in  the 
dead  of  night  by  “  agents  ”  at  the  risk  of  being  shot  by  a 
sentry.  The  industrial  troubles  that  prevailed  in  England 
and  America  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  and  beginning  of 
the  twentieth  century  were  all  visited  upon  the  heads  of 
the  alien  immigrants,  and  severe  restrictive  laws  were 
passed  to  prevent  their  unchecked  entry,  which  were  also 
adopted  in  various  forms  by  the  Argentine,  Canada,  South 
Africa,  and  Australia.  Good  health,  the  prospect  of  being 
able  to  earn  a  living,  and  the  possession  of  a  sum  of  money 
varying  from  ^4  in  the  United  States  to  £20  in  South 
Africa,  are  the  qualifications  demanded  of  all  who  would 
pass  through  the  guarded  portals  of  liberty.  These  regula¬ 
tions  are  administered  so  severely,  and  often  so  capriciously, 
by  the  immigration  officials  that  they  often  form  an 
effective  barrier  to  the  persecuted  Jew  in  search  of  a  refuge. 
Many  an  emigrant  who  has  been  certified  by  Russian  or 
German  oculists  as  free  from  trachoma  has  been  declared 
by  the  medical  officers  at  Ellis  Island  to  be  suffering  from 
this  disease,  and  thus,  after  having  sold  up  his  belongings 
to  buy  the  passage,  he  is  turned  back  homeless  and  hopeless, 
perchance  even  parted  from  wife  and  children.  During 
the  last  few  years  there  has,  indeed,  been  a  slight  diminution 
in  the  proportion  of  those  rejected  by  the  American 
authorities  :  in  1911  there  were  787  out  of  61,500,  equal 
to  1*279  Per  cent,  whilst  in  1912  there  were  only  640  out 
of  64,738,  equal  to  *988  per  cent.  But  even  this  last 
record  represents  over  twelve  persons  every  week  doomed 
to  recross  the  Atlantic  in  despair.  The  anti-alien  agitation 
in  England,  so  far  as  its  economic  aspect  is  concerned,  has 


222 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


largely  subsided,  because  it  has  been  realized  that  England’s 
industrial  troubles  are  independent  of  the  alien  immigrant  ; 
and  besides  there  has  been  a  marked  decline  of  alien 
immigration  into  this  country,  from  27,541  in  1907  to 
18,856  in  1911,  a  fall  of  more  than  33  per  cent  in  five  years. 
In  America,  however,  the  agitation  for  increasing  still 
furtherthe  restrictions  of  admission  continues  undiminished, 
but  it  is  being  valiantly  and  vigilantly  combated  by  the 
Jewish  community.1  The  hardships  of  emigration  are  to 
a  certain  extent  mitigated  by  the  labours  of  a  dozen 
benevolent  organizations  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  it  has  been  proposed  to  supplement  these  by  a  Jewish 
Emigration  Bank,  to  prevent  the  loss  of  a  big  proportion 
of  the  money  sent  by  immigrants  in  America  to  their 
relatives  in  Russia  and  to  save  emigrants  from  the  wiles 
of  unscrupulous  shipping  agents.  But  the  peculiar  tribula¬ 
tions  of  the  Jewish  emigrant,  though  they  may  grow  less, 
are  never  likely  to  disappear. 


1  The  Jewish  Immigrants’  Information  Bureau  at  Galveston,  which 
was  established  in  1907  with  the  object  of  diverting  the  stream  of  Jewish 
immigration  from  the  eastern  to  the  southern  and  western  regions  of  the 
United  States,  is  shortly  to  be  closed,  owing  mainly,  according  to  Mr. 
Jacob  H.  Schiff  (the  financier  of  the  movement,  which  has  been  directed 
from  the  European  side  by  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization),  to  the 
hostility  of  the  officials  at  Galveston,  who  excluded  a  higher  percentage 
of  immigrants  (5)  than  their  colleagues  at  the  eastern  ports  (1-25  per 
cent).  The  “  Galveston  movement,”  however,  has  accomplished  its 
purpose  in  opening  up  the  path  to  the  less  congested  parts  of  the  United 
States  ( Jewish  Charities,  July  1914). 


BOOK  V 


THE  INTELLECTUAL  ASPECT 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Jewish  intellect  and  its  forms  of  activity — The  evolution  of 
intellectual  progress 

intellectual  gifts  of  the  Jew  have  been  mani¬ 
fested  in  such  countless  and  impressive  forms  that 
JL  they  have  been  acknowledged  by  friend  and  foe 
alike.  Whatever  be  the  faults  with  which  the  adversary  of 
the  Jew  may  reproach  him  he  readily  admits  his  high  mental 
capacity,  though  he  tries  to  neutralize  the  admission  by 
conceding  the  Jew  only  talent  and  denying  him  genius. 
We  shall  consider  later  whether  there  is  any  justification 
for  this  view.  For  the  present  we  merely  wish  to  point 
out  that  the  Jewish  mind  is  the  product  of  an  age-long 
process  of  selective  development,  steeled  and  tempered  by 
the  fires  of  persecution,  and  that  the  forms  in  which  it 
expresses  itself  are  inevitably  shaped  and  coloured  by  a 
complexity  of  historic,  religious,  and  social  influences. 
Even  in  the  Bible,  unanimously  acknowledged  as  the 
Jew’s  most  valuable  and  enduring  contribution  to  the 
treasury  of  the  world’s  thought,  there  may  be  traced  a 
number  of  distinct  mental  attitudes — the  legal,  the  spiritual, 
the  mystic,  the  rational,  and  even  the  romantic.  This 
diversity  of  intellectual  attitude  or  proclivity  was  likewise 
manifested  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when,  side  by  side  with 
Talmudical  literature,  science  and  philosophy  were  also 
cultivated,  and  many  a  Rabbi  was  distinguished  as  a 
physician  or  an  astronomer.  But  at  no  period  in  Jewish 

223 


224 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


histor}?  was  this  diversity  so  striking  and  multifarious  as 
at  the  present  day. 

Until  the  dawn  of  the  social  and  political  emancipation 
of  the  Jews  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  their 
intellectual  life,  on  the  whole,  was  of  a  uniform  and  specifi¬ 
cally  Jewish  character,  for  they  were  sundered  by  Ghetto 
walls  from  external  influences.  They  were  trained  in 
traditional  Hebrew  lore  in  the  schools  of  the  Synagogue 
and  nurtured  on  Jewish  ideals  ;  with  the  exception  of  a 
Spinoza  or  a  Siisskind  of  Trimberg,  they  devoted  them¬ 
selves  mainly  to  the  study  and  enrichment  of  their  own 
national  literature  ;  and  even  when  they-  occupied  them¬ 
selves  with  alien  subjects  they  still  laboured  in  a  Jewish 
milieu  and  retained  a  Jewish  outlook.  But  with  the 
advent  of  emancipation  a  radical  change  set  in.  This  first 
asserted  itself  in  the  sphere  of  education,  where  the  tradi¬ 
tional  lore  was  gradually  usurped  by  modern  knowledge, 
and  thenspread  to  all  other  spheres  of  intellectual  endeavour. 
But  it  was  only  in  the  lands  of  the  West  that  this  change 
was  allowed  free  play  ;  in  the  East  it  was  at  first  met  with 
active  resistance,  and  even  later  it  was  unable  to  make  the 
same  progress  as  in  the  lands  of  liberty  owing  to  the  social 
and  political  servitude  of  the  local  Jewries.  Hence,  modern 
Jewry  is  divided  into  two  great  camps  in  the  world  of 
culture.  The  Eastern  camp  has  remained  faithful  to  the 
traditions  and  ideals  of  Israel,  and  has  also  in  the  last 
hundred  years  produced  an  abundant  literature  of  its  own 
in  Hebrew  and  Yiddish ;  whilst  the  Western  camp  has 
energetically  participated  in  all  the  labours  and  strivings 
of  modern  culture  and  achieved  many  an  important 
triumph  in  different  spheres.  Between  the  two  there  is  a 
gulf  which  Zionism  is  trying  to  bridge  over  by  the  creation 
of  a  Jewish  land,  in  which  Jews  shall  co-operate  in  all  the 
movements  of  modern  culture,  working  under  the  influence 
of  their  own  national  spirit  and  through  the  medium  of 
their  own  national  language. 


CHAPTER  I 


EDUCATION 

Jewish  education  originally  religious  in  character  and  purpose — 
Transition  to  secular  education  in  eighteenth  century — Attendance  at 
Jewish  and  non- Jewish  schools — Abnormal  percentage  at  Western 
universities — Anomalous  conditions  in  Galicia — The  Cheder  in 
Russia — Legal  restrictions  in  Russia — Education  in  the  East — 
Education  a  stepping-stone  to  assimilation 

t  M”^HE  pursuit  of  knowledge  has  always  formed  a 
i  cardinal  ideal  in  Jewish  life,  but  the  conception 

A  of  its  nature  and  purpose  has  undergone  a  change 
in  the  process  of  time.  Until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  sole  object  of  study  was  to  produce  a  good 
Jew,  that  is,  a  religious  Jew,  and  hence  the  scheme  of 
education  in  all  the  Jewries  of  Europe  was  designed  to 
impart  an  intimate  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
religious  lore.  It  consisted  of  systematic  instruction  in 
the  Torah  and  the  Talmud  and  their  manifold  comment¬ 
aries,  a  course  that  was  difficult  and  voluminous  enough 
to  occupy  the  mind  of  the  Jew  from  infancy  to  manhood, 
and  indeed  a  sage  of  the  Talmud  devised  a  quaint  pro¬ 
gramme  to  cover  this  important  period  of  development.1 
The  work  of  education  was  conducted  mostly  in  a  private 
school  styled  a  Cheder,  which  literally  means  “  room,” 
and  which  generally  consisted  of  the  sole  living-room  of 
the  teacher,  in  which  his  wife,  with  her  children  about  her, 
plied  her  domestic  duties  whilst  the  lessons  went  on  the 

1  Mishnah,  Aboth,  chap.  v.  :  “  At  five  years  the  age  is  reached  for  the 
study  of  the  Scripture,  at  ten  for  the  study  of  the  Mishnah,  at  thirteen 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  commandments,  at  fifteen  for  the  study  of  the 
Talmud,  at  eighteen  for  marriage,  at  twenty  for  seeking  a  livelihood." 

15 


226  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

whole  day.  The  number  of  pupils  at  each  Cheder  was 
limited  by  its  seating  capacity,  which  was  none  too  large, 
though  there  were  generally  two  or  three  classes,  graded 
according  to  age  and  capacity,  which  attended  at  different 
hours.  The  curriculum  comprised  the  reading  of  the 
Hebrew  prayer  book,  the  translation  of  the  Bible  and  its 
cantillation  according  to  the  traditional  system  of  accents, 
the  study  of  the  numerous  commentaries  upon  the  Penta¬ 
teuch  and  the  rest  of  the  Bible,  Hebrew  cursive  writing, 
the  study  of  the  religious  codex,  the  Shulchan  Aruch 
(“  Table  Prepared  ”),  and  finally  that  of  the  monumental 
thesaurus  of  Jewish  law,  doctrine,  and  tradition — the 
Talmud.  The  tuition  was  imparted  through  the  medium 
of  Yiddish  and  in  anything  but  a  methodical  fashion,  for  the 
teacher  ( Melammed )  rarely  had  any  other  qualification  ex¬ 
cept  his  unfitness  for  other  callings,  relieved  by  unblemished 
piety  ;  but  every  parent  considered  it  a  religious  duty  to 
send  his  children  to  the  Cheder,  and  even  to  make  a  self- 
sacrifice  for  the  purpose.  The  Cheder  was  attended,  as  a 
rule,  only  by  boys,  the  importance  of  the  education  of  the 
girls  being  discounted  by  the  inferior  position  of  their  sex 
in  the  synagogue,  but  the  children  of  well-to-do  parents 
were  taught  at  home  by  a  private  tutor.  Besides  the 
Chedarim,  of  which  there  were  a  number  in  every  Jewish 
town,  there  was  also  a  communal  school  for  the  education  of 
poor  and  orphan  children,  styled  a  Talmud  Torah  (“  Study  of 
the  Law”) , which  was  maintained  by  voluntary  contributions 
and  provided  the  same  course  of  instruction.  The  pupils 
of  a  Talmud  Torah  were  also  often  supplied  with  free  food 
and  clothing.  The  ambitious  student,  or  he  who  wished 
to  adopt  the  career  of  a  Rabbi,  continued  his  studies  in  a 
Talmudical  college  or  Yeshiba,  and  even  went  from  one 
Yeshiba  to  another  to  gather  wisdom  from  the  famous 
Rabbis  who  presided  over  these  institutions.  The  youth 
who  excelled  in  Talmudical  learning  and  failed  to  equip 
himself  for  a  worldly  vocation  had  no  cause  to  fear  the 
future,  for  he  was  sure  that  his  accomplishments  would  be 
detected  and  appreciated  by  the  well-to-do  father  of  a 
marriageable  daughter,  who  would  gladly  take  him  as  his 


A  TALMUDICAL  COLLEGE 

FROM  THE  PAINTING  I5V  SAMUEL  H IRSZEN PERG 


EDUCATION 


227 


son-in-law,  keep  him  for  the  first  two  years  after  marriage, 
and  then  provide  him  with  the  means  of  a  future  livelihood. 
Even  after  assuming  the  burden  of  a  family  the  pious  Jew 
still  continued  the  study  of  the  Torah  in  his  leisure  moments, 
in  literal  fulfilment  of  the  Biblical  injunction  :  “  This  book 
of  the  law  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  but  thou  shalt 
meditate  therein  day  and  night.”  1 

The  whole  scheme  of  education  throughout  the  Middle 
Ages  was  thus  dedicated  to  a  religious  purpose.  Secular 
knowledge  was  pursued  only  secondarily  and  spasmodi¬ 
cally,  and  that  too  only  by  adults  :  the  three  principal 
subjects  favoured  being  medicine,  philosophy,  and  as¬ 
tronomy,  in  each  of  which,  particularly  the  first,  the  Jews 
acquired  a  more  than  local  renown.  But  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  owing  to  the  increasing 
intercourse  of  J ews  with  Christians,  the  importance  of 
secular  education,  and  especially  of  being  able  to  speak 
and  write  the  vernacular,  was  more  and  more  recognized, 
and  hence  a  desire  arose  to  supplement  the  religious  with 
a  secular  training.  This  tendency  was  actively  fostered 
by  Moses  Mendelssohn,  the  apostle  of  enlightenment 
among  the  Jews,  and  by  his  various  disciples,  and  it  was 
considerably  furthered  by  his  German  translation  of  the 
Pentateuch,  which  at  length  provided  his  generation, 
who  had  hitherto  spoken  only  Yiddish,  with  a  key  to 
modern  culture.  The  promoters  of  this  secular  movement 
were  animated  by  mingled  motives  of  humanism  and 
patriotism  :  they  wished  to  widen  the  mental  horizon  of 
their  fellow- Jews  by  teaching  them  the  vernacular  and 
the  most  necessary  branches  of  general  knowledge  in  order 
to  make  them  the  social  and  intellectual  equals  of  their 
Christian  neighbours  and  thus  strengthen  their  claim  to 
political  equality.  Laudable  as  this  movement  was  it 
encountered  the  bitterest  opposition  from  most  of  the 
Rabbis,  and  the  battle  which  ensued  raged  with  varying 
intensity  in  different  parts  of  Europe  and  has  not  yet 
terminated  to  this  day  in  certain  regions  of  Eastern  Europe. 
The  antagonism  to  secular  learning  arose  from  the  fear 

1  Josh,  i.  8. 


228 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


that  it  would  ultimately  usurp  the  place  of  religious  learn¬ 
ing  and  thus  estrange  the  Jew  from  the  faith  of  his  fore¬ 
fathers,  a  fear  that  has  unfortunately  been  proved  in  a 
great  measure  to  be  justified.  But  the  march  of  progress 
could  not  be  stayed  by  Rabbinical  bans,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  modern  learning  that  was  kindled  by  Mendelssohn’s 
devotees,  Hartwig  Wessely,  David  Friedlander,  and  Daniel 
Itzig,  became  infectious.  In  1 778  the  first  modern  Jewish 
school  was  founded  in  Berlin  by  David  Friedlander,  and 
this  served  as  a  model  for  other  institutions  that  arose 
soon  after  in  different  parts  of  Germany,  Austria,  Italy, 
and  England.  Since  then  modern  education  has  spread 
steadily  throughout  the  Jewish  communities  of  Western 
Europe  and  America,  and  it  has  also  been  introduced 
among  the  Jewries  of  the  Orient ;  but  in  various  parts 
of  Russia  and  Galicia  the  conditions  still  resemble  those 
that  prevailed  a  hundred  years  ago. 

The  zeal  that  had  formerly  been  devoted  to  religious  lore 
has  now  been  transferred  to  secular  learning,  and  the  mental 
acumen  that  had  been  sharpened  by  Talmudical  dialectics 
has  asserted  itself  in  the  rapid  acquisition  of  modern 
culture.  The  J ews  did  not  wait  for  the  establishment  of  free 
schools  by  the  State  but  founded  their  own  schools,  in  which 
the  Hebrew  and  religious  curriculum  was  preserved  side  by 
side  with  the  secular  instruction.  The  name  Talmud  Torah 
was  also  retained  for  these  institutions  in  various  cases,  and 
was  only  dropped  later  when  the  growing  claims  of  the 
secular  subjects  caused  a  reduction  in  the  amount  of  re¬ 
ligious  tuition.  With  the  advance  of  the  civil  and  political 
emancipation  of  the  Jews  in  Western  Europe  and  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  compulsory  education  they  soon  availed  them¬ 
selves  of  the  boon  of  the  Government  schools,  though  they 
naturally  preferred  to  send  their  children  to  their  own  com¬ 
munal  establishments,  where  they  could  receive  a  religious 
as  well  as  a  secular  training,  and  where,  moreover,  they  could 
grow  up  in  a  Jewish  atmosphere.  In  no  country,  however, 
could  the  resources  of  the  community  keep  pace  with  the 
growing  educational  requirements  of  its  population,  and 
hence  increasing  attendance  at  the  State  schools  was  inevit- 


EDUCATION 


229 


able.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  developed  that  in  the 
Jewish  quarters  of  great  cities,  such  as  London,1  New 
York,  and  Chicago,  there  are  Government  schools  that  are 
wholly  or  almost  wholly  attended  by  Jewish  pupils.  In 
fact,  the  great  bulk  of  Jewish  children  in  the  Western  world 
receive  their  education  in  municipal  schools.  The  proportion 
of  Jewish  elementary  school  children  attending  non- Jewish 
schools  in  Prussia  actually  amounts  to  three-fourths,2  and 
the  number  of  Jewish  scholars  at  higher  grade  institutions 
is  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  population.  In  the  Prussian 
middle  schools  the  percentage  of  Jewish  pupils  is  four  times 
as  large  as  the  ratio  of  all  Jewish  pupils  to  the  total  number 
of  pupils,  in  the  higher  girls’  schools  it  is  about  ten  times  as 
large,  and  in  the  higher  boys’  schools  (“  gymnasia,” 
modern  schools,  etc.)  it  is  about  eight  times  as  large.3  A 
similar  disproportion  of  the  Jewish  to  non- Jewish  scholars 
is  found  in  several  public  schools  in  England  (London  and 
Manchester)  and  America.4  This  abnormally  high  share  in 
advanced  education  is  commonly  attributed  to  the  fact 
that  the  Jews  are  almost  entirely  an  urban  people,  largely 
engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  who  have  therefore  both 
more  opportunity  and  inclination  to  attend  educational 
institutions  and  also  more  need  of  the  knowledge  acquired 
there.  But  the  cardinal  motive  consists  in  the  Jewish 
esteem  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  derived  from  the 
devotion  lavished  for  centuries  upon  the  study  of  the  Torah 
and  the  Talmud  :  even  the  poorest  family  is  ready  to  make 
a  sacrifice  in  the  interests  of  the  education  of  a  promising 
child.  Not  only  do  Jewish  children  form  an  abnormal  per¬ 
centage  of  the  scholars  at  public  schools,  but  they  often 
display  an  unusual  aptitude,  particularly  in  languages, 
history,  and  mathematics,  and  it  is  a  frequent  phenomenon 
at  British  and  American  schools  that  they  carry  off  an  undue 
proportion  of  the  prizes  and  scholarships. 

1  According  to  the  latest  statistics  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  Jewish 
school  children  in  greater  London  attend  Jewish  elementary  schools, 
namely,  7184  out  of  a  total  of  37,236  ( Jewish  Year  Book,  1912,  p.  49). 

2  Ruppin,  Die  Juden  der  Gegenwart,  p.  123.  3  Ibid.,  p.  121. 

4  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America,  p.  190,  edited  by  Dr.  Edmund  J- 
James  (New  York,  1907). 


230 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


The  J ewish  passion  for  learning  is  manifested  even  more 
strikingly  in  the  attendance  at  the  universities.  Until  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century  Jews  were  represented  only 
sparsely  at  the  universities,  but  during  the  last  hundred 
years,  and  more  especially  during  the  last  fifty,  they  have 
flocked  in  ever-increasing  numbers  to  these  seats  of  learning, 
particularly  in  Central  Europe,  and  in  a  proportion  far 
exceeding  their  ratio  to  the  general  population.  According 
to  Dr.  Ruppin  the  percentage  of  Jews  at  the  universities  in 
Germany  is  seven  times  as  large  as  the  percentage  of  the 
Christian  population  (1905-06). 1  In  Austria  the  per¬ 
centage  of  Jewish  students  is  four  times  as  large  as  that  of 
the  Christian  students,  and  in  Hungary  it  is  six  times  as 
large.2  This  disproportion  is  partly  to  be  explained  by  the 
J  ewish  contingent  including  a  certain  proportion  of  students 
from  Russia,  who  are  unable  to  attend  the  universities  in 
their  native  country  except  in  limited  numbers  ;  but  even 
allowing  for  this  foreign  influx  the  Jewish  proportion  of  the 
university  students  in  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  is 
still  exceedingly  high.  In  the  period  from  1851  to  1904  the 
number  of  Jewish  students  at  the  universities  of  Austria 
increased  sevenfold,  whilst  that  of  the  Christian  students 
hardly  trebled,3  and  if  a  similar  disproportionate  increase 
should  take  place  during  the  next  fifty  years  Jewish  students 
would  almost  be  in  an  absolute  preponderance  in  certain 
centres.  The  percentage  of  Jews  at  some  American  uni¬ 
versities  (Columbia  and  New  York)  is  also  disproportionately 
large,4  though  not  to  the  same  extent  as  on  the  Continent  ; 
and  in  England  there  is  likely  to  be  a  similar  disproportion 
at  Cambridge.  Until  recently  the  favourite  study  of  J  ewish 
university  men  was  medicine,6  a  predilection  partly  derived 
from  tradition  and  partly  due  to  its  utility  in  any  part  of 
the  world  to  which  the  student  might  emigrate  ;  but  this 

1  Die  Judender  Gegenwart,  p.  126.  2  Ibid.,  p.  126. 

3  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  by  Dr.  J.  Thon,  p.  98  (Berlin,  1908). 

4  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America. 

6  According  to  an  investigation  by  the  late  Professor  Morris  Loeb 
(1904-05),  Jews  formed  39  per  cent  of  the  1871  medical  students  in  New 
York  City,  in  which  the  Jews  constitute  20  per  cent  of  the  population 
(Dr.  M.  Fishberg,  The  Jews,  p.  377). 


EDUCATION 


231 


has  now  been  outriv ailed  by  law,  to  which  Jews  have 
devoted  themselves  in  increasing  numbers  since  they  have 
been  allowed  to  practise  and  plead  in  the  courts.  Jewish 
students,  however,  are  now  to  be  found  in  all  the  faculties  of 
a  university,  and  likewise  at  the  various  technical  colleges. 
At  the  technical  colleges  in  Vienna  and  Prague,  for  example, 
they  actually  form  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  total  number 
of  students.1 

Far  different  is  the  spectacle  presented  by  Russia  and 
Galicia,  the  home  of  more  than  half  of  the  Jews  in  the  world. 
Here  the  conditions  in  many  respects  resemble  those  that 
were  general  throughout  Europe  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
in  Russia  owing  to  the  opportunities  of  education  being 
severely  restricted  by  barbarous  laws,  and  in  Galicia  owing 
to  the  dominance  of  extreme  religious  orthodoxy  as  exempli¬ 
fied  in  the  strength  of  the  Chassidic  sect  and  the  veneration 
of  the  “  Wonder  Rabbis.”2  Although  the  first  modern 
Jewish  school  in  Galicia  was  founded  at  Tarnopol,  by  Joseph 
Perl,  as  early  as  1815,  and  although  attendance  at  the 
elementary  schools  is  compulsory,  the  Jews  in  Galicia  still 
look  askance  upon  modern  education  as  the  breeder  of  heresy 
and  prefer  to  send  their  children  to  the  Cheder  alone.  Even 
as  late  as  1900  the  percentage  of  Jewish  children  at  the  ele¬ 
mentary  schools  was  less  than  the  ratio  of  the  Jews  to  the 
general  population.3  The  hostility  to  the  schools  mainly 
affects  the  boys,  however,  whose  religious  training  is  con¬ 
sidered  of  paramount  importance,  whilst  far  less  scruple 
is  shown  in  letting  the  girls  receive  a  secular  education. 
Hence  Jewish  girls  until  recently  outnumbered  their 
brothers  at  the  elementary  schools  in  Galicia  and  Bukowina,4 
a  circumstance  that  produced  much  unhappiness  later  in  the 
marriage  of  girls  with  modern  education,  speaking  Polish,  to 
men  trained  only  in  Talmudical  lore  and  speaking  Yiddish.5 
But  a  growing  improvement  in  this  respect  has  been 
effected  since  the  establishment  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
schools,  in  which  an  adequate  place  is  given  in  the  curriculum 

1  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  102.  2  See  p.  284. 

8  Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  p.  81.  4  Ibid.,  p.  81. 

6  Dr.  Siegmund  Fleischer,  in  Judische  Statistik,  p.  230. 


232 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


to  religious  instruction,  and  the  children  are  able  to  conform 
with  the  requirements  of  the  Jewish  faith,  such  as  the 
hallowing  of  the  Sabbath  and  festivals.  In  Rumania 
there  are  no  religious  scruples  about  school  attendance, 
but  the  restrictions  that  prevent  the  free  admission  of  Jewish 
children  to  the  State  schools  necessitate  the  maintenance  of 
voluntary  institutions  which  are  effectively  supported  by 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  and  the  “  Hilfsverein 
der  deutschen  Juden.”  The  former  body*  has  already 
contributed  to  the  erection  of  29  Jewish  schools  in  twenty- 
one  different  centres  in  Rumania. 

In  Russia  the  Jews  are  animated  by  the  same  passion 
for  education  as  their  brethren  in  the  West,  but  an  op¬ 
pressive  Government  has  taken  effective  precautions  to 
prevent  this  passion  being  gratified.  The  State  primary 
schools  in  the  Pale  are  altogether  too  few  for  the  needs  of 
the  Jewish  population,  and  attendance  at  the  high  schools 
and  universities  is  limited  to  a  low  percentage  of  the  total 
number  of  pupils.  At  the  end  of  last  century  the  number 
of  primary  schools  was  estimated  to  be  only  183,  and  hence 
the  Jews  were  compelled  to  establish  and  maintain  schools 
of  their  own,  the  number  of  which  amounted  to  637. 
The  funds  for  these  schools  are  derived  from  a  communal 
tax  on  Kosher  meat  and  from  voluntary  donations,  but 
their  inadequacy  necessitates  the  support  of  a  special 
society — “  for  the  Propagation  of  Primary  Education 
among  the  Jews  in  Russia  ” — to  which  the  Jewish  Colon¬ 
ization  Association  contributes  some  £20,000  a  year  as 
subventions  to  54  schools.  But  the  total  number  of 
pupils  attending  both  types  of  schools  did  not  exceed 
60,000,  which  forms  but  a  tenth  of  the  Jewish  children  of 
school  age  in  the  country.1  Nevertheless,  the  Jews  at 
the  last  Russian  census  of  1897  showed  a  literacy  nearly 
twice  as  high  as  that  of  the  entire  Russian  people,  39  as 
compared  with  21  per  cent,  whilst  according  to  the  Report 
of  the  Commissioner-General  of  Immigration  of  the  United 
States  (1897)  only  28*6  per  cent  of  the  Russo- Jewish 

1  Economic  Conditions  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of 
Labour,  p.  580  (Washington,  1907). 


EDUCATION 


233 


immigrants  above  fourteen  were  illiterate,  a  percentage 
that  declined  to  23*3  in  1904.1  This  comparatively  high 
degree  of  literacy  among  the  Jews  of  Russia,  which  is  all 
the  more  remarkable  in  view  of  the  limited  opportunities 
for  elementary  education,  is  mainly  due  to  the  Chedarim 
in  which  the  children  are  taught  to  read  and  write  Yiddish 
besides  the  subjects  of  the  religious  syllabus.  There  are 
about  30,000  of  these  Chedarim  in  the  Russian  Pale,2  with 
probably  an  aggregate  attendance  of  not  more  than  400,000, 
of  which  the  girls  do  not  form  more  than  5  per  cent.  Most 
of  these  Hebrew  schools  are  in  poor  private  houses,  the 
surroundings  are  shabby  and  insanitary,  the  medium  of 
instruction  is  Yiddish,  the  methods  are  antiquated,  the 
hours — eight  or  ten  a  day — are  abnormally  long,  and 
there  is  usually  a  lack  of  discipline.  There  are  also  about 
500-600  Talmud  Torah  schools  in  which  some  instruction 
is  given  in  equally  shabby  surroundings — a  cracked  ceiling, 
broken  windows,  grimy  walls  and  floor,  foul  air,  and 
deficient  heating  in  winter.  But  during  the  last  ten  years, 
thanks  mainly  to  the  influence  of  the  Zionist  movement,  a 
number  of  model  Chedarim  have  been  established  in  large 
Jewish  towns  in  the  west  and  south-west  of  Russia,  which 
show  a  great  improvement  in  scholastic  and  hygienic  re¬ 
spects  :  Hebrew  is  taught  by  the  Berlitz  method,  the  secular 
subjects  of  the  Russian  primary  schools  are  also  taught, 
there  is  a  systematic  curriculum,  and  the  tone  and  dis¬ 
cipline  are  better.  In  addition  to  attendance  at  these 
various  institutions  a  great  number  of  children  receive 
private  tuition  in  Hebrew  and  Russian  subjects. 

The  pursuit  of  higher  education  in  Russia  is  circum¬ 
scribed  by  the  law  which  limits  the  percentage  of  Jews 
among  the  scholars  of  middle  and  high  schools  in  the 
Pale  to  10  per  cent,  outside  the  Pale  to  5  per  cent,  and 
in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  to  3  per  cent.  Only  in  the 


1  Immigration ,  by  Prescott  F.  Hall  (New  York,  1907),  p.  81. 

2  Education  in  Russia,  Board  of  Education  Special  Report,  p.  193 
(London,  1909).  The  Jewish  Colonization  Association  estimated  the 
number  of  Chedarim  at  24,620  ( Die  sozialen  Verhaltnisse  dev  Juden  in 
Russland,  p.  47,  Berlin,  1906). 


234 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


commercial  middle  schools,  which  are  communal  estab¬ 
lishments  maintained  almost  wholly  by  Jewish  funds,  are 
Jews  admitted  to  the  extent  of  50  per  cent  of  the  scholars. 
These  restrictions  have  an  almost  paralysing  effect  upon  the 
efforts  of  the  Jewish  youth  to  acquire  an  advanced  edu¬ 
cation,  but  as  they  press  less  heavily  upon  Jewish  girls 
the  latter  possess  on  an  average  a  better  education  than 
their  brothers.1  Similar  restrictions  bar  the  entrance  to 
the  universities,  at  which  Jews  may  not  form  more  than 
5  per  cent  of  the  total  students  in  St.  Petersburg  and 
Moscow,  10  per  cent  of  those  in  Kazaii,  Kharkoff,  Dorpat, 
and  Tomsk,  and  15  per  cent  of  those  in  Warsaw,  Kiev, 
and  Odessa.  The  cramping  effect  of  these  regulations 
is  vividly  shown  by  the  fact  that  whilst  the  proportion 
of  Jews  to  the  total  number  of  students  in  Russia  rose 
from  6 ‘8  per  cent  in  1880  to  14*8  per  cent  in  1886,  it 
fell,  in  consequence  of  the  Rescript  of  the  Russian  Minister 
of  Education  in  1887,  to  10^9  per  cent.  The  severity  of 
the  hardship  can  be  measured  by  a  comparison  with  the 
conditions  in  Hungary,  where  the  Jews  send  ten  times 
as  many  of  their  sons  to  the  universities  as  their  co¬ 
religionists  in  Russia.2  Finding  the  gates  of  knowledge 
closed  to  them  in  their  native  land  the  Jewish  subjects 
of  the  Tsar  are  compelled  to  migrate  to  other  countries  to 
realize  their  academic  ambition.  The  task  is  no  light 
one,  for  apart  from  the  question  of  fees  and  support  during 
the  years  of  study,  they  must  also  battle  with  the  diffi¬ 
culties  of  the  foreign  language  and  with  an  anti-alien 
prejudice,3  but  they  are  spurred  on  by  the  desire  for 
a  professional  career.  The  universities  most  favoured 

1  Die  sozialen  V  evhaltnisse  dev  Juden  in  Russland,  pp.  52-53  (Berlin, 
1906).  2  Ibid.,  p.  55. 

3  In  the  early  months  of  1913  a  serious  agitation  broke  out  among 
German  students  against  the  presence  of  Russian  Jews  at  the  universities, 
the  result  of  which  is  a  restriction  of  their  admission  to  the  universities  of 
Berlin,  Koenigsberg,  Munich,  Leipzig,  Halle,  and  several  other  seats  of 
learning.  A  similar  agitation  followed  in  Paris  (see  Jewish  Chronicle, 
nth  April  1913),  though  without  any  practical  effect,  and  also  at  several 
Austrian  universities  (Vienna,  Prague,  Gratz,  etc.),  where  a  restriction 
similar  to  that  in  Germany  was  introduced.  The  consequence  has  been 
that  many  Jewish  students  have  migrated  to  Italy. 


EDUCATION 


235 


(thanks  to  the  affinity  of  Yiddish  with  German)  are  those 
in  German-speaking  countries,  that  is,  in  Austria  and 
German  Switzerland  as  well  as  in  Germany  itself,  whilst 
those  in  French  Switzerland,  France,  and  Belgium  attract 
a  smaller  number.  In  all  over  4000  Russo- Jewish  students 
are  found  at  the  universities  in  these  five  countries,  half 
of  them  in  Germany  alone,  but  there  are  also  a  good 
many  at  the  various  technical  colleges,  commercial  high 
schools,  and  polytechnics,  whose  numbers  cannot  be 
exactly  ascertained. 

One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  Jewish  solidarity 
is  the  systematic  effort  of  the  Jews  of  the  West  to  spread 
the  benefits  of  education  among  their  brethren  in  the 
East.  The  first  organized  endeavour  in  this  direction 
was  made  by  the  “  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,”  of  Paris, 
which  established  its  first  school  in  Tetuan  in  1862,  and 
which  has  since  founded  a  host  of  other  schools  in  Morocco, 
Tunis,  Egypt,  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  Persia. 
The  total  number  of  primary  schools  which  it  now  main¬ 
tains  is  183  (28  in  Morocco  alone),  comprising  1472  teachers 
and  nearly  50,000  pupils,  and  involving  an  annual  ex¬ 
penditure  of  £92,000,  half  of  which  is  contributed  by  the 
local  communities.  A  small  fee  is  charged  for  the  children 
of  well-to-do  parents,  but  poor  children  are  given  not 
only  free  education  but  occasionally  also  books  and 
clothing.  The  "  Alliance  ”  also  maintains  farm  schools  in 
Palestine  and  Tunis,  a  teachers’  training  college  in  Paris 
to  supply  its  schools  with  qualified  teachers  born  in  the 
East,  and  a  Rabbinical  Seminary  in  Constantinople  to 
provide  the  communities  of  the  Orient  with  spiritual 
guides  equipped  with  a  modern  education.1  The  civilizing 
work  effected  by  this  educational  activity  in  regions  that 
might  otherwise  have  been  left  to  languish  in  stagnation 
deserves  full  recognition,  but  unfortunately  the  directors 
of  the  “  Alliance  ”  have  imposed  upon  the  schools  a  modern 
French  character,  without  regard  to  the  special  con¬ 
ditions  of  the  East,  they  have  failed  to  provide  continua¬ 
tion  schools  for  the  pupils  who  are  apt  to  sink  back  into 

1  This  Seminary  was  closed  in  June  1913.  Cf.  p.  213. 


236  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Oriental  lassitude,  and  they  do  not  exercise  any  personal 
supervision  of  the  work.  The  activity  of  the  “  Alliance  ” 
has  thus  a  negative  as  well  as  a  positive  side.  Its  efforts 
have  been  supplemented  since  1871  by  the  Anglo- Jewish 
Association,  which  supports  schools  at  Bombay,  Jerusalem, 
and  Mogador,  and  likewise,  since  1902,  by  the  “  Hilfsverein 
der  deutschen  Juden,”  which,  besides  promoting  elementary 
and  advanced  education  in  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey, 
also  subventions  general  and  technical  schools  in  Galicia, 
Rumania,  and  Bulgaria.  The  “  Hilfsverein  ”  has  acted  as  a 
pioneer  of  the  kindergarten  system  in  the  East,  it  conducts 
a  teachers’  training  college  in  Jerusalem,  and  has  provided 
the  initiative  and  active  co-operation  in  the  founding  of  a 
technical  college  at  Haifa  at  a  cost  of  more  than  £50,000, 
which  will  not  only  form  the  coping-stone  of  Jewish  edu¬ 
cation  in  Palestine  but  also  give  a  powerful  impetus  to 
the  study  of  applied  science  in  the  Near  East.  It  main¬ 
tains  44  institutions  in  all,  28  of  which  are  in  Palestine, 
with  a  total  register  of  7000  pupils,  and  it  expended 
£14,700  upon  its  educational  work  in  1913  alone. 

Thus,  both  in  the  East  and  West,  modern  education 
has  been  espoused  by  Jewry  with  an  ardour  unequalled 
by  any  other  nation.  Not  content  with  the  various  types 
of  Jewish  and  non- Jewish  schools  and  colleges  already 
enumerated,  they  have  also  established  private  boarding- 
schools  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  which  generally 
comprise  pupils  from  a  variety  of  countries  sent  by  their 
parents  to  acquire  a  higher-grade  education  in  a  Jewish 
atmosphere  ;  and  apart  from  the  facilities  provided  by 
public  scholarships  for  the  prosecution  of  advanced  studies 
there  is  a  special  committee  or  society  in  several  com¬ 
munities  for  assisting  youths  of  exceptional  talent  to 
complete  their  training  and  obtain  a  footing  in  the 
professional  world.  The  success  with  which  modern  Jews 
have  adopted  secular  learning  is  shown  by  their  abnormally 
high  participation  in  the  liberal  professions,  one  of  the 
most  striking  testimonies  consisting  in  the  unusually 
large  number  of  Jewish  professors  at  the  German 
Universities.  Although  the  Jews  in  Germany  form  only 


EDUCATION 


237 


one  per  cent  of  the  total  population,  and  although  the 
social  antipathy  to  them  is  so  strong,  they  provided  in 
the  session  1909-10  six  per  cent  of  the  professors  and 
Privatdozenten  both  in  the  faculties  of  law  and  philosophy 
and  ten  per  cent  of  those  in  the  faculty  of  medicine,1 
a  percentage  that  would  even  be  larger  if  we  included  Jewish 
professors  who  had  adopted  Christianity.  The  effects  of 
modern  education  are  not  less  striking  among  the  masses 
of  the  Jewish  population,  not  so  much  because  of  any 
scholastic  distinction  as  on  account  of  the  complete 
revolution  wrought  in  every  sphere  of  Jewish  life.  The 
specifically  Jewish  language,  such  as  Yiddish  and  Ladino, 
is  gradually  discarded  in  favour  of  the  vernacular  ;  Hebrew 
education  is  relegated  to  an  insignificant  place  beside  the 
secular  curriculum ;  the  religious  bases  of  the  home  are 
being  rudely  shaken  by  the  inroads  of  rationalism  ;  and 
the  widening  of  economic  opportunity  that  comes  of  a 
better  education  is  transforming  the  industrial  aspect  of 
Jewry  and  bringing  it  into  close  and  constant  contact 
with  its  non- Jewish  surroundings.  All  the  distinctive 
features  of  Jewish  life,  material  and  spiritual,  economic 
and  intellectual,  are  being  slowly  assimilated  to  its  environ¬ 
ment.  More  than  half  of  the  Jews  in  the  world  still  speak 
Yiddish,  read  books  and  newspapers  in  this  language  and 
conduct  all  their  affairs  in  this  medium  ;  but  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  Russian  Jew  picks  up  English  on  his 
settling  in  England  or  America,  aided  by  evening  classes 
and  Toynbee  Halls,  and  the  uninterrupted  flow  of  migration 
from  Eastern  Europe  to  the  Western  countries,  point  to 
the  declining  importance  of  the  Judeo-German  tongue. 
In  Turkey  and  its  former  dependencies,  Bulgaria  and 
Servia,  the  great  bulk  of  the  Jews  likewise  still  use  Ladino 
as  their  principal  medium  of  intercourse  ;  but  the  con¬ 
stitutional  era  opened  up  in  the  Sultan’s  dominions  and 
the  political  changes  in  the  Balkans,  supplemented  by 
the  systematic  work  of  the  Jewish  educational  agencies, 
will  inevitably  cause  the  restriction  of  the  Judeo-Spanish 

1  Dr.  J.  Segall,  Die  beruflichen  und  sozialen  V evhaltnissc  der  Juden  in 
Deutschland,  p.  57  (Berlin,  1912). 


238 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


tongue  to  an  ever-diminishing  circle.  The  benefits  of 
modern  learning  have  not  been  won  without  many  a 
domestic  tragedy,  for  the  children  of  Russo- Jewish  families 
settled  in  England  and  America,  puffed  up  by  a  sense  of 
their  superiority  derived  from  a  higher  education,  often 
turn  with  contempt  upon  the  Yiddish  of  their  parents 
and  spurn  religious  customs  and  traditions  which  they 
associate  with  it.  Hence  arise  estrangements  between 
children  and  parents  whose  effects  are  not  confined  to 
the  home,  for  when  once  the  children  are  emancipated 
from  the  religious  control  of  the  parents  their  absorption 
in  the  alien  environment  is  often  but  a  question  of  time. 


CHAPTER  II 


JEWISH  CULTURE 

The  comprehensiveness  of  Jewish  culture — The  linguistic  aspect 
of  Jewish  literature — The  development  of  Yiddish  literature — 
Character  of  its  mediaeval  period — Distinctive  features  of  modern 
period — Present-day  writers  and  tendencies — The  character  of 
modern  Hebrew  literature — Its  earlier  period — Phases  of  Romance 
and  Realism — The  nationalist  phase — Jewish  music  and  art — The 
manifold  promotion  of  Jewish  culture 

IT  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  culture  of  the 
Jewish  people  is  purely  religious  in  character. 
This  supposition  is  as  erroneous  as  the  widespread 
doctrine  that  the  Jews  are  merely  a  religious  community 
and  is  a  natural  corollary  thereof,  whilst  it  is  partly  derived 
from  the  fact  that  the  Bible,  the  supreme  product  of  the 
Hebrew  genius,  is  in  the  main  a  work  of  religious  inspiration. 
The  scope  of  Jewish  culture,  however,  is  not  merely 
spiritual  in  character  :  it  embraces  all  other  aspects  and 
elements  of  social  and  intellectual  life,  though  not  in  the 
same  degree  as  the  culture  of  a  Western  nation  rooted 
to  the  soil  from  which  it  is  sprung  and  favoured  in  its 
many-sided  development  by  natural  progressive  forces. 
Although  deprived  of  its  land  for  nearly  two  thousand 
years  the  Jewish  people  has  not  only  preserved  all  the 
literary  treasures  that  it  created  on  its  own  soil  but 
continued  to  give  literary  expression  in  its  own  language 
to  its  thoughts,  ideals,  and  emotions,  in  all  the  lands  of 
its  dispersion  down  to  the  present  day.  That  the  study 
of  the  Bible  and  the  Talmud,  with  their  accumulation  of 
commentaries  and  super-commentaries,  claimed  its  fore¬ 
most  attention  and  formed  the  principal  anodyne  in  the 

long  dark  night  of  suffering  is  a  fact  that  admits  of  little 

239 


240 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


dispute  ;  but  the  pages  of  Jewish  literature  bear  vivid 
and  abundant  evidence  that  there  were  always  creative 
minds  who  were  not  so  utterly  absorbed  in  meditating 
on  the  Law  as  to  be  deaf  to  the  inspiration  of  life  itself, 
or  to  the  appeal  of  secular  learning.  Jewish  literature 
provides  a  faithful  record  of  the  ideals  and  longings  that 
animated  the  people  in  different  ages,  of  its  sorrows  and 
tribulations,  its  habits  and  customs,  its  foibles  and  super¬ 
stitions.  Like  every  other  literature,  so  too  that  of  the 
Jewish  people  has  not  only  its  writers  of  liturgies  and 
law-books  but  also  its  poets  and  dramatists,  its  philosophers 
and  moralists,  its  historians  and  chroniclers,  its  fabulists 
and  romancers,  its  satirists  and  humorists,  and  it  has 
withal  a  wealth  of  folklore  and  proverbs.  The  bulk  of 
this  literature  was  produced  in  the  national  language, 
Hebrew,  which  was  never  exclusively  the  language  of 
prayer.  Its  makers,  being  everywhere  in  a  minority  in 
the  lands  of  exile,  were  influenced  in  matters  of  form  by 
alien  writers  :  the  poets  of  Spain  modelled  their  style 
upon  that  of  their  Arabic  contemporaries,  and  their 
brethren  in  Italy  admiringly  followed  in  the  footsteps  of 
Dante.  But  despite  this  adoption  of  foreign  forms  the 
literature  of  the  Jewish  people  was  essentially  Jewish  in 
character,  in  its  language,  its  modes  of  thought  and  its 
intellectual  outlook  ;  it  had  a  unity  of  ideals  despite  the 
dispersion  of  its  writers  over  a  dozen  lands  ;  and  it  formed 
the  collective  product  of  the  minds  of  the  entire  nation. 
Such  was  the  character  of  Jewish  literature  until  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  acquisition  of  modern 
education  and  the  growth  of  social  intercourse  with  its  non- 
J ewish  neighbours  brought  about  a  change  in  the  intellectual 
life  of  Jewry,  which  has  reached  its  most  advanced  stage 
in  the  lands  of  liberty.  Henceforth  the  Jews  of  the  Western 
countries  ceased  to  contribute  solely  to  their  national 
literature  and  left  their  brethren  in  the  East  as  its  main 
producers.  They  studied  it,  indeed,  but  as  a  literature 
of  the  past ;  they  wrote  learned  and  voluminous  works 
upon  it,  and  translated  many  of  its  masterpieces  into 
their  adopted  tongue,  particularly  in  Germany  ;  but  they 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


241 


no  longer  moved  and  had  their  being  in  it  like  their  fore¬ 
fathers  of  old.  For  them  it  was  a  finished  book,  which 
required  no  continuation  but  merely  a  commentary.  They 
did  not,  indeed,  become  utterly  and  suddenly  divorced 
from  the  life  and  thought  of  their  people,  otherwise  they 
would  have  ignored  its  literature  too.  But  they  devoted 
their  principal  energies  in  a  growing  measure  to  the  service 
of  the  culture  of  their  native  country,  they  participated 
in  the  making  of  its  literature  and  art,  its  music  and 
drama,  and  co-operated  in  all  the  other  fields  of  intellectual 
labour — science,  medicine,  law,  politics,  journalism.  A 
certain  remnant,  it  is  true,  still  remained  faithful  to  the 
literature  of  their  people,  but  as  they  were  unable  to  use 
Hebrew  as  a  literary  medium  they  wrote  their  works  in 
their  vernacular,  many  of  which  have  found  their  way 
in  the  form  of  translations  into  the  treasury  of  Hebrew 
literature.  But  these  non-Hebrew  works,  even  if  not 
translated  into  Hebrew,  dealing  as  they  do  with  Jewish 
life  and  thought,  and  inspired  by  Jewish  ideals,  have  a 
rightful  claim  to  belong  to  Jewish  literature,  just  like  the 
Arabic  works  of  Saadyah  or  Maimonides  or  the  Spanish 
works  of  Manasseh  ben  Israel.  The  writings  of  Zunz 
and  Graetz,  of  Geiger  and  Munk,  of  Franzos  and  Zangwill, 
are  products  of  the  Jewish  mind  concerned  with  Jewish 
matters,  and  are  all  in  their  various  ways  contributions 
to  Jewish  culture. 

No  other  literature  has  been  composed  in  so  many 
languages  as  Jewish  literature,  for  no  people  like  Israel 
has  been  scattered  among  so  many  different  lands  and  con¬ 
tinued  to  develop  its  national  literature  through  centuries 
of  exile.  But  just  as  the  literature  of  every  other  nation 
is  composed  in  the  national  language,  so,  too,  the  main  body 
of  Jewish  literature,  reflecting  most  faithfully  the  ideals, 
traditions,  and  tribulations  of  the  people,  is  contained  in 
Hebrew.  The  creation  of  this  Hebrew  literature  never 
ceased  and  was  never  interrupted,  not  even  by  the  advent 
of  emancipation  ;  it  has  continued  from  the  age  of  the 
Psalmists  and  the  Prophets  down  to  the  present  day,  and 
has  even  received  a  fresh  and  invigorating  stimulus  in 
16 


242 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


recent  years.  But  an  important  difference  that  dis¬ 
tinguishes  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  periods  from  the 
modern  is  that  formerly  the  entire  nation,  wheresoever 
scattered,  was  engaged  in  its  production,  whereas  now¬ 
adays  the  cultivators  of  Hebrew  literature  are  confined 
mainly  to  a  small  section  of  the  people  and  are  locally  de¬ 
limited,  the  chief  centres  of  activity  being  Russia  and 
Palestine.  The  modern  output  of  Hebrew  literature  has 
been  accompanied  by  a  parallel  development  in  Yiddish, 
which  testifies  to  the  intellectual  fertility  of  the  Jews 
in  Eastern  Europe,  and  which  forms  with  it  the 
twofold  expression  of  the  Jewish  national  genius  that 
has  been  least  affected  by  alien  influence.  For  the 
Jews  in  Russia  and  Galicia,  living  for  centuries  in  a 
compact  mass  and  endowed  with  all  the  features 
of  a  self-contained  community,  remained  for  the  most 
part  impervious  to  the  ideas  of  education  and  pro¬ 
gress  that  speedily  seized  their  brethren  in  Western  lands ; 
they  continued  to  keep  true  to  the  ancient  ideals,  and  gave 
utterance  to  their  thoughts  and  emotions  either  in  the 
common  national  language  or  in  the  tongue  which  they  had 
fashioned  in  their  German  exile.  In  this  twofold  medium 
they  created  a  valuable  and  voluminous  literature,  com¬ 
prising  every  form  of  prose  and  verse,  lyric  and  epic,  elegy 
and  drama,  satire  and  parody,  the  novel  as  fostered  by 
different  schools  of  romance,  sentiment,  and  realism,  the 
essay  and  biography,  the  sketch  and  feuilleton,  apart  from 
works  on  history,  science,  and  philosophy,  and  a  periodical 
press  remarkable  both  for  its  fertility  and  its  variety. 

The  rise  and  development  of  Yiddish  literature  is  one 
of  the  most  striking  phenomena  in  the  annals  of  the  J  ewish 
people.  Yiddish,  which  is  an  English  transliteration  of 
the  German  word  Judisch  (itself  elliptic  ally  used  for 
Judisch-Deutsch  or  Judeo-German)  is  the  name  of  the 
language  which  was  spoken  by  the  J  ews  in  Germany  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  which  they  carried  with  them  on  their  forced 
emigration  in  the  sixteenth  century  into  Poland,  Lithuania, 
and  Bohemia,  and  which  now  forms  the  principal  medium 
of  intercourse  of  more  than  six  million  people.  Its  basis 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


243 


is  the  High  German  of  the  Middle  Rhine  district,  which 
was  spoken  by  J ew  and  Christian  alike  ;  but  it  was  written 
by  the  Jew  in  Hebrew  characters,  and  upon  being  trans¬ 
planted  to  Slavonic  soil  it  absorbed  many  Russian  and 
Polish  words  and  inflexions  from  its  new  environment  and 
appropriated  many  expressions  and  idioms  from  the 
Hebrew  vocabulary,  particularly  those  relating  to  religious 
matters,  whilst  it  underwent  slight  variations  of  pro¬ 
nunciation  and  orthography  in  different  regions  and  has 
even  annexed  a  great  number  of  English  words  and  phrases 
in  its  latter-day  development  in  England  and  America. 
The  rise  and  growth  of  Yiddish  is  as  natural  as  that  of  any 
other  language,  but  because  it  differs  from  modern  classical 
German  it  is  often  branded  as  a  bastard  lingo  and  is  even 
spoken  of  by  its  own  writers  as  “  Jargon.”  But  its  analogy 
with  English,  to  which  it  is  closely  related,  should  suffice 
to  redeem  it  from  the  obloquy  that  is  unjustly  cast  upon  it. 
For  English  is  simply  the  development  of  the  Low  German 
dialect  that  the  Angles  and  Saxons  brought  with  them  to 
the  island  of  Britain  in  the  fifth  century,  whilst  Yiddish  is 
the  High  German  dialect  that  the  Jews  carried  with  them 
into  Poland  and  Bohemia  ten  centuries  later.  The  former 
was  the  speech  of  conquerors,  the  latter  that  of  fugitives  : 
hence  the  difference  in  their  later  evolution.  But  the  growth 
of  Yiddish  is  not  unique  in  the  vicissitudes  of  Israel.  The 
Jews  who  were  expelled  from  Spain  in  1492  and  settled 
in  Turkey  took  their  Castilian  mother-tongue  with  them 
and  fashioned  therefrom  a  Judeo-Spanish  language ; 
whilst  their  brethren  in  North  Africa  spoke  and  wrote  a 
Judeo- Arabic  tongue,  and  those  in  Persia  a  Judeo-Persian, 
all,  like  their  Judeo-German  counterpart,  being  written 
in  Hebrew  characters.  But  the  surpassing  importance 
of  Yiddish  consists  in  its  being  spoken  by  half  of  Jewry,  and 
in  forming  the  medium  of  a  rich  literature  palpitating 
with  living  interest. 

The  history  of  Yiddish  literature  is  divided  into  two 
periods  by  the  advent  of  Moses  Mendelssohn.  The  first  or 
mediaeval  period  is  mainly  distinguished  by  the  production 
of  translations  and  paraphrases  of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  of 


244 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


folk-tales  and  folk-songs;  whilst  the  latter  period  is  marked 
by  the  output  of  novels,  poems,  and  instructive  works, 
which  breathe  a  modern  and  critical  spirit.  The  first 
Yiddish  translation  of  the  Pentateuch  appeared  in  1540, 
and  that  of  the  Old  Testament  more  than  a  century  later, 
in  1676  ;  but  the  most  characteristic  and  popular  work  of 
a  religious  nature  was  a  homiletic al  paraphrase  of  the 
Bible,  entitled  Ze'ena  Ureena  (“  Go  ye  forth  and  see  ’J1  and 
published  in  1590,  which  embodied  the  pith  of  the  principal 
mediaeval  commentaries  and  of  the  vast  legendary  lore  of 
the  Talmud,  and  which,  with  its  quaint  medley  of  legends, 
parables,  and  naive  moralizing,  has  formed  the  treasured 
companion  of  the  pious  Jewess  down  to  the  present  day. 
In  the  sphere  of  secular  literature  the  supreme  place  is  held 
by  the  Ma  ase-Buch  (“  Story  Book  ”),  a  compilation  of  over 
three  hundred  stories  drawn  from  the  Talmud,  the  Midrash, 
and  the  Cabbala,  from  the  saga  cycles  of  Germany  and 
the  fables  of  India  and  Arabia,  which  appeared  in  Western 
Germany  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Apart  from 
this  main  collection  a  multitude  of  other  tales  was  pro¬ 
duced,  for  every  Jewish  town  evolved  its  own  cycle  of 
stories  ;  celebrated  characters,  such  as  the  founder  of  the 
Chassidic  sect,2  inspired  romances  dealing  with  their  ex¬ 
ploits  ;  and  many  of  the  popular  romances  of  mediaeval 
Europe,  such  as  those  about  King  Arthur  and  Bevys 
of  Hampton,  likewise  found  their  way  into  the  Yiddish 
garner.  But  the  literary  spirit  of  the  mediaeval  Jew  also 
found  utterance  in  verse,  and  a  host  of  folk-songs,  the 
product  of  ready  rhymesters  who  wandered  troubadour¬ 
like  from  town  to  town  and  sang  their  lays  in  The  streets 
and  inns  of  the  Ghetto,  remain  to  tell  us  of  the  hopes,  the 
sorrows,  and  the  joys  of  a  bygone  age. 

The  transition  to  the  modern  period  of  Yiddish  litera¬ 
ture  was  ushered  in  by  Mendelssohn’s  translation  of  the 
Pentateuch  into  pure  German  (1780-83).  This  translation 
was  at  once  the  symbol  and  the  most  important  expression 
of  a  movement  which  was  destined  to  have  a  profound 
and  lasting  influence  upon  the  development  of  the  Jewish 
1  Canticles  iii.  1 1 .  2  See  p.  278. 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


245 


people — the  movement  for  the  espousal  of  modern  culture. 
The  Haskalah  or  “  Enlightenment,”  as  this  intellectual 
reformation  was  called,  preached  the  adoption  of  the 
vernacular  and  secular  education,  the  abandonment  of  all 
Ghetto  peculiarities  of  dress,  and  assimilation  in  all  things 
not  pertaining  to  religion,  to  the  ways  and  customs  of  the 
surrounding  population.  The  effect  of  this  teaching  of 
Mendelssohn  and  his  disciples,  coupled  with  the  growth 
of  social  intercourse  between  Jews  and  Christians,  was  that 
the  Jews  of  Germany  began  to  look  with  disdain  upon 
Yiddish  literature  and  ceased  to  take  part  in  its  produc¬ 
tion.  Henceforth  the  cultivation  of  Yiddish  letters  was 
conducted  alone  by  their  brethren  on  the  east  of  the 
German  frontier,  who  displayed  a  creative  energy  and 
critical  faculty  far  exceeding  those  of  the  earlier  period. 
Although  the  Jews  of  this  region  remained  loyal  to  the 
despised  “Jargon”  they  nevertheless  studied  German 
literature,  and  throughout  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  their  writers  were  under  the  spell  of  German 
culture.  They  modelled  their  poetical  productions  upon  the 
style  of  Schiller  and  Lessing  ;  they  wrote  satires  upon  the 
customs  and  superstitions  of  the  Chassidim  ;  and  they 
sought  in  divers  ways  to  bring  home  to  the  masses  the 
blessings  of  secular  knowledge  and  of  a  practical  view  of 
life.  This  didactic  tendency  continued  until  the  advent 
of  Solomon  Jacob  Abramowitsch,  who  was  the  first  to  give 
a  really  modern  note  to  Yiddish  literature.  Endowed  with 
a  rich  imagination,  with  acute  observation,  and  with  a 
masterly  style,  Abramowitsch,  who  wrote  mostly  under 
the  quaint  nom  de  plume  of  “  Men  dele  the  Bookseller,”  has 
depicted  the  kaleidoscopic  life  of  his  people  in  the  Russian 
Pale  in  a  series  of  novels  and  dramas,  marked  by  a  vein 
of  satire  and  a  spirit  of  criticism,  which  are  possessed  of 
high  worth  both  as  artistic  works  and  as  historic  docu¬ 
ments.  The  best  of  his  prose  works,  Die  Kliatsche  (The 
Dobbin),  is  an  allegory  on  the  storm-tossed  life  of  the 
Jew,  whilst  his  Judel  (The  Jew),  the  only  epic  in  Yiddish 
literature,  narrates  with  glowing  passion  the  various 
phases  in  the  chronicles  of  Israel  from  the  days  of  Pharaoh 


246  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


down  to  the  modern  era  of  Anti-Semitism.  Abramowitsch, 
who  was  born  in  1835,  and  is  still  alive,  exercised  a  stimulat¬ 
ing  influence  upon  his  generation,  which  manifested  itself 
in  an  increased  literary  activity  that  has  continued  to 
the  present  day,  whilst  the  afflictions  that  have  over¬ 
taken  the  Pale — the  toll  inflicted  by  the  Russo-Japanese 
War,  the  abortive  Revolution,  and  the  periodic  pogroms — 
have  also  given  a  powerful  impetus  to  Yiddish  literature. 

The  most  popular  writers  who  now  dominate  the 
Yiddish  world,  and  specimens  of  whose  works  are  accessible 
in  a  modern  language,  are  Solomon  Rabinowitsch,  better 
known  as  Shalom  Aleichem  (“  Peace  unto  you  !  ”),  who  is  at 
once  poet,  playwright,  novelist,  and  critic,  and  whose 
volatile  wit  and  vivid  characterization  are  best  displayed 
in  Stempenyu,  the  romance  of  a  humble  violinist 1 ;  Leon 
Perez,  a  prolific  writer  of  stories,  sketches,  and  poems, 
whose  ballad,  “  The  Sewing  of  the  Wedding  Gown/’ 
surpasses  Hood’s  “  Song  of  the  Shirt  ”  in  pathos  and 
technique  ;  Morris  Rosenfeld,  transplanted  to  the  New 
York  Ghetto,  where  the  grind  of  the  sweatshop  has  drawn 
from  him  some  of  the  most  passionate  lyrics  in  the  Yiddish 
tongue  ;  and  Schalom  Asch,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
newer  generation  of  writers,  and  has  written  several 
realistic  novels  depicting  the  most  recent  phase  of  Jewish 
life  in  Russia.  But  an  enumeration  of  all  these  writers 
and  a  characterization  of  their  works  can  afford  but  a 
faint  conception  of  the  many-sided  interest  of  this  literature, 
or  of  the  feverish  activity  by  which  it  is  marked  and  is 
likely  to  be  marked  for  many  decades  to  come.  For  the 
denizens  of  the  Russian  Pale  have  been  brought  into 
intellectual  communion  with  the  Western  world.  All  the 
great  writers  of  European  literature,  from  Shakespeare 
and  Boccaccio  down  to  Victor  Hugo  and  Tolstoi,  besides 
most  of  the  popular  modern  authors,  have  been  rendered 
into  Yiddish  ;  and  hundreds  of  daily  newspapers,  magazines, 
and  literary  annuals,  are  issuing  from  the  presses  of  Russia, 
America,  and  other  lands  in  which  Russian  and  Galician 

1  An  English  translation  by  Hannah  Berman  has  been  published  by 
Methuen  &  Co.  (1913). 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


247 


Jews  have  settled  in  large  numbers.  It  is  inevitable  that 
the  children  of  the  East  European  immigrants  settled  in 
Western  countries,  particularly  in  England  and  America, 
should  soon  be  estranged  from  the  literary  fare  of  their 
fathers  ;  but  the  constancy  and  the  immensity  of  the 
emigration  from  the  East  to  the  West,  as  well  as  the  im¬ 
probability  of  the  abolition  of  the  Russian  Pale  or  of  any 
radical  change  in  the  life  of  its  inhabitants  within  any 
measurable  period,  are  likely  to  prolong  the  life  of  Yiddish 
and  its  literature  both  in  the  Old  and  the  New  World  for 
at  least  another  fifty  years. 

Yiddish  literature  is  the  literature  of  the  masses,  pro¬ 
duced,  it  is  true,  by  men  of  education  with  a  touch  of 
genius,  but  intended  for  the  great  majority  of  the  people 
whose  knowledge  of  Hebrew  has  been  confined  to  the  prayer 
book  and  the  Bible.  The  new  Hebrew  literature  which 
developed  simultaneously  was  at  first  cultivated  only  in 
educated  circles,  but  it  gradually  penetrated  to  the  masses 
too.  In  character  it  presents  a  radical  contrast  to  the 
literature  of  the  ancient  ^and  mediaeval  periods,  for  it  is 
marked  by  a  spirit  of  revolt  against  Rabbinical  tradition  and 
re-echoes  with  the  voice  of  the  critic  and  the  rationalist.  It 
comprises  a  succession  of  romances,  poems,  and  satires, 
which  faithfully  reflect  the  lights  and  shadows  of  life  in  the 
Russian  Pale  ;  it  includes  a  number  of  critical  and  philo¬ 
sophical  studies  dealing  with  the  manifold  problems  of 
present-day  Jewry  ;  and  it  has  a  widely-ramified  periodical 
press,  which  is  increasing  in  vigour  and  volume  from  year 
to  year.  The  language  in  which  this  modern  literature  is 
composed  is  in  all  essentials  the  same  as  that  of  the 
chroniclers,  the  psalmists,  and  the  prophets  of  ancient 
Israel,  developed  and  amplified  to  respond  to  all  the  latest 
needs  of  modern  civilization,  and  fashioned  into  a  facile 
instrument  of  modern  thought.  The  propagation  of  the 
national  idea  during  the  last  thirty  years  has  given  a  power¬ 
ful  impetus,  intensified  of  late,  to  the  use  of  Hebrew  both 
as  a  literary  and  a  colloquial  medium,  especially  among 
the  idealists  of  Eastern  Europe,  but  its  advance  is  hampered 
by  economic  and  social  conditions  which  provide  an  un- 


248  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


congenial  soil  for  its  development.  The  future  of  the 
Hebrew  tongue  lies  in  Palestine,  where  it  has  already 
become  the  principal  language  of  the  Jewish  community  ; 
it  is  the  only  medium  through  which  the  diverse  elements 
of  this  community,  drawn  from  a  dozen  climes,  can  under¬ 
stand  one  another  ;  it  has  become  the  language  of  the 
school  and  the  home,  of  the  shop  and  the  bank,  of  the 
mart  and  the  field,  of  the  lecture-room  and  concert-hall. 
All  the  Jewish  newspapers  of  the  country  are  printed  in  it, 
forming  for  the  present  the  principal  channel  of  literary 
production  ;  but  with  the  growth  of  the  community, 
nourished  and  inspired  by  national  ideals,  it  is  inevitable 
that  Hebrew  literature  should  witness  a  new  age  of 
efflorescence  in  the  land  to  which  it  owes  its  finest  fruits. 

The  Renaissance  of  Hebrew  letters,  which  assumed 
its  most  vigorous  and  creative  form  in  Lithuania,  was 
preceded  by  a  period  of  preparation  in  different  countries. 
It  was  inaugurated  in  1743  by  Moses  Haim  Luzzatto,  in 
Italy,  with  his  allegorical  drama,  Praise  to  the  Righteous,  and 
it  was  furthered  in  Germany  by  Naphtali  Hartwig  Wessely 
(1725-1805)  with  his  epic  on  the  Exodus,  which  was 
influenced  by  Klopstock’s  Messiad,  and  in  Holland  by 
David  Mendes  (1763-92)  with  his  adaptation  of  Racine’s 
Athalie.  But  these  works  were  for  the  most  part  literary 
and  artistic  exercises,  which  bore  little  or  no  relation  to 
contemporary  life.  It  was  in  Galicia  that  the  Hebrew 
writers,  Rapaport,  Krochmal,  Erter,  and  Letteris,  first 
derived  their  themes  from  the  conditions  and  spirit  of 
their  time  and  expressed  in  various  works  the  critical 
attitude  that  was  slowly  spreading  in  intellectual  circles  ; 
but  even  their  activity  had  little  or  no  influence  upon  the 
masses.  The  real  ferment  began  in  Wilna,  where  in  1830 
a  literary  circle  called  the  “  Berliners  ” — a  frank  acknow¬ 
ledgment  of  Mendelssohnian  influence — was  founded  for 
the  cultivation  of  Hebrew  literature  and  the  advancement 
of  Humanism.  Its  foremost  figures  were  the  poet,  Abraham 
Beer  Lebensohn  (1794-1880),  and  the  prose- writer,  Mordecai 
Aaron  Ginzburg  (1795-1846).  First  a  teacher  and  then  a 
pedlar,  Lebensohn,  who  was  a  free-thinker  and  pessimist, 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


249 


was  the  first  to  give  passionate  utterance  in  a  cycle  of 
poems  to  the  misery  of  his  people.  His  philosophy  of 
despair  is  summed  up  in  the  line  : 

“  All  human  life  is  like  the  lightning  that  precedes 
The  thunderbolt  of  death.” 

Ginzburg  was  the  first  master  of  modern  Hebrew  prose, 
whose  principal  work,  an  autobiography,  criticizes  the 
defective  education  of  his  day,  whilst  Isaac  Beer  Levinsohn 
(1788-1860),  who  is  styled  the  Mendelssohn  of  Russia,  also 
devoted  his  main  activity  to  modernizing  Jewish  education. 

All  these  writers,  however,  did  not  exercise  such  a 
decisive  and  far-reaching  influence  as  Caiman  Shulman 
(1826-1900),  who,  by  his  universal  history  in  ten  volumes 
and  his  universal  geography  on  a  similar  scale,  popularized 
Hebrew  literature  among  the  masses.  His  great  achieve¬ 
ment  was  the  founding  of  the  Romantic  movement  by  his 
translation  in  1847  °f  Sue’s  Mysteries  of  Paris,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  the  most  notable  event  in  Hebrew 
literature  since  the  invention  of  a  Hebrew  prosody  by  the 
mediaeval  singers  of  Spain.  The  romantic  spirit  found  its 
first  original  expression  in  Abraham  Mapu,  whose  Love  of 
Zion,  an  idyllic  story  of  Amnon  and  Tamar,  is  the  first 
prose  work  of  creative  imagination  in  Hebrew.  But  the 
stress  of  life  soon  caused  the  taste  for  Romance  to  be 
replaced  by  the  wish  for  Realism,  which  was  also  ex¬ 
emplified  by  Mapu  in  The  Hypocrite,  a  novel  exposing  the 
tyrannous  persecution  of  the  votaries  of  modern  learning 
by  fanatical  Rabbis.  Both  in  the  fields  of  Romance  and 
Realism,  however,  Mapu  was  overshadowed  by  Judah 
Loeb  Gordon  (1830-92),  the  greatest  Hebrew  poet  since 
the  Middle  Ages,  whose  dramatic  poems  display  artistic 
perfection  and  throb  with  the  passion  of  a  rebel  spirit. 
Gordon’s  was  the  bitterest  protest  against  the  Rabbinical 
code  as  the  foe  to  progress  : 

“  By  cords  of  precepts  are  we  all  enchained. 

By  fetters  of  inane  and  galling  rules. 

No  more  do  strangers  persecute  our  lives, 

But  our  own  kin.  Our  hands  are  bound  no  more, 

But  shackles  clog  our  soul.” 


250 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


But  he  was  also  moved  to  despair  by  the  pogroms 
and  by  the  general  helplessness  of  his  people,  ex¬ 
claiming  : 

"  Whereto  shall  I  compare  thee,  people  mine, 

Thee  and  thy  vast  and  variegated  lore  ? 

Unto  a  giant  stricken  prostrate,  slain, 

With  all  the  earth  thy  yawning  sepulchre, 

Thy  lore  an  epitaph  for  endless  time/’ 

The  critical  phase  represented  by  Gordon  was  super¬ 
seded  by  the  national  idealism  which  now  dominates 
Hebrew  literature  and  which  was  heralded  by  the  work  of 
Perez  Smolenskin  (1842-85).  Reared  from  childhood  like 
all  the  previous  writers  in  the  Talmudic  atmosphere,  and 
seized  in  early  manhood  with  modern  tendencies,  Smolenskin 
saw  the  only  effective  remedy  for  the  ills  of  his  people  in 
its  restoration  to  the  land  of  its  origin,  and  he  accordingly 
dedicated  his  life  to  the  propagation  of  Jewish  nationalism. 
The  medium  of  his  mission  was  the  review  Hashachar 
(“  The  Dawn  ”),  which  he  founded  in  Vienna  and  which 
enjoyed  the  co-operation  of  the  best  Hebrew  writers  of 
Europe  ;  but  he  owes  his  popularity  at  least  in  equal 
measure  to  his  novels,  which  present  a  graphic  and  critical 
description  of  the  conditions  of  Jewish  life  in  his  day, 
rounded  off  by  a  Zionist  romance.  It  is  Zionism  that  is 
the  main  source  of  inspiration  of  all  subsequent  writers, 
among  whom  the  foremost  place  is  held  by  Asher  Ginzburg, 
better  known  as  Achad  Haam  (“  One  of  the  People  ”). 
The  distinguishing  achievement  of  Ginzburg  is  the  creation 
of  a  system  of  thought  designated  as  Spiritual  Zionism, 
which  regards  the  establishment  of  a  centre  of  national 
culture  in  Palestine  as  the  paramount  need  of  modern 
Jewry  :  a  view  that  provides  the  spiritual  justification  of 
Zionism,  which  is  generally  based  upon  political  and 
economic  grounds.  In  the  poetical  world  the  most  inspired 
singer  is  Nachman  Bialik,  likewise  a  votary  of  the  national 
idea,  who  is  ranked  by  some  even  higher  than  Gordon  ; 
whilst  Tchernichowsky,  who  has  drunk  of  Hellenic  springs, 
dedicates  his  muse  to  love  and  nature.  The  labourers  in 
the  field  of  Hebrew  letters  are  now  too  numerous  to  mention, 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


251 


for  the  Zionist  movement  has  given  a  powerful  impetus  to 
literary  productivity,  not  only  in  Russia  but  also  in  other 
Jewish  centres.  Frischmann  the  critic  and  poet,  Sokolow 
the  publicist,  Ben-Avigdor  the  novelist,  Brainin  the  bio¬ 
grapher,  and  Klausner  the  historian,  these  and  a  multitude 
of  others  have  enriched  Hebrew  literature  with  works  that 
can  compare  in  variety  of  interest  with  a  European 
literature,  for  all  the  phases  of  Jewish  life,  its  internal 
problems  and  its  external  conflicts,  the  doubts  and  hopes 
for  the  future,  find  ready  and  multifarious  expression  in 
the  ancient  language  that  has  renewed  its  youth.  Russia 
is  likely  to  remain  the  principal  home  of  Hebrew  literature 
for  many  years  to  come,  though  several  of  its  leading 
writers  have  of  late  removed  to  Western  countries.1  The 
future  of  Hebrew  culture,  however,  rests  in  Palestine. 
The  Jewish  community  there  is  too  young  and  too 
small  to  have  yet  produced  any  notable  literary  fruits, 
apart  from  the  great  Hebrew  dictionary  of  Ben-Jehuda; 
but  its  development  will  assuredly  be  attended  by  the 
growth  of  a  literature  worthy  of  the  land  of  its 
birth. 

Literature  is  only  one  of  many  channels  in  which  the 
Jewish  genius  least  affected  by  alien  influence  has  sought 
expression,  for  it  has  also  found  utterance  in  drama,  music, 
and  art.  The  founder  of  the  Yiddish  drama  is  Abraham 
Goldfaden,  who  derived  most  of  his  themes  from  Biblical 
and  mediaeval  history,  but  a  large  number  of  plays  dealing 
with  modern  life  have  been  written  by  writers  in  America 
to  gratify  the  ceaseless  demand  of  the  Yiddish  theatres 
in  New  York  for  new  productions.  Plays  in  Hebrew 
dealing  with  modern  conditions  have  also  been  produced 
in  recent  years  in  Russia  and  Palestine.  Jewish  music, 
apart  from  that  of  the  synagogue,  has  its  distinctive 
quality,  a  fusion  of  Oriental  motives  with  the  pathos  of 
exile,  which  resounds  in  a  growing  collection  of  operas, 
songs,  and  ballads ;  whilst  there  is  also  a  distinctive  note 

1  There  is  a  universal  Jewish  association,  Histadruth  Ibrith  (“Hebraic 
Organization  ”),  with  headquarters  in  Berlin,  for  the  revival  of  Hebrew  as 
a  living  language. 


252 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


in  the  work  of  Jewish  artists  who  have  been  reared  in  a 
Jewish  milieu  and  are  inspired  by  Jewish  themes,  such  as 
Hermann  Struck,  Leopold  Pilichowski,  and  the  late  Samuel 
Hirszenberg.  The  range  of  Jewish  art,  the  existence 
of  which  is  denied  by  some  critics,  is  small  as  yet, 
but  it  is  steadily  growing  and  even  includes  a  special 
manifestation  in  the  form  of  book-plates  with  Hebrew 
designs  and  historic  symbols.  But  Jewish  art  cannot 
properly  develop  and  flourish  except  in  a  Jewish 
land. 

The  world  of  Jewish  culture,  however,  as  already 
observed,  is  not  confined  to  Eastern  Europe  or  Palestine, 
for  in  all  the  communities  throughout  the  globe  there  is 
a  certain  amount  of  purely  Jewish  intellectual  activity 
which  lies  quite  outside  the  domain  of  religion,  and  the 
most  distinguished  representatives  of  which  are  sometimes 
even  estranged  from  the  synagogue.  This  activity  expresses 
itself  in  a  multitude  of  forms — creative  and  critical,  popular 
and  scientific.  Novels,  poems,  and  plays  by  Jewish 
authors,  dealing  in  a  modern  language  with  Jewish  themes, 
are  now  a  regular  feature  of  modern  literature  ;  but  far 
more  energetic  and  fertile  is  the  activity  that  is  concerned 
with  the  history  and  literature  of  Israel,  with  his  religion 
and  philosophy.  The  most  numerous  and  valuable  con¬ 
tributions  in  this  sphere  have  been  made  by  the  Jews  in 
Germany,  who,  from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  devoted  themselves  to  the  scientific  research  of 
the  intellectual  treasures  of  their  people — “  die  Wissen- 
schaft  des  Juden turns,”  as  they  called  it — and  have  pro¬ 
duced  many  standard  works,  such  as  the  comprehensive 
history  by  Graetz,  the  studies  on  the  liturgy  by  Zunz,  and 
the  exposition  of  the  ethics  of  Judaism  by  Lazarus.  But 
important  additions  to  this  branch  of  literature  have  also 
been  made  in  England  and  America  during  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century,  the  most  valuable  being  the  Jewish  Encyclo- 
ftcediciy  the  publication  of  which  will  always  be  a  landmark 
in  Jewish  history.  Moreover,  the  study  of  the  past  is 
cultivated  in  a  host  of  learned  periodicals,  mainly  in 
Hebrew,  Russian,  German,  English,  and  French ;  and  there 


JEWISH  CULTURE 


253 


are  special  societies  for  the  dissemination  of  literary  works, 
both  old  and  new,  the  largest  being  the  Jewish  Publication 
Society  of  America,  which  has  12,000  members  and  issues 
four  new  books  every  year.  On  the  Continent  the 
most  important  publication  societies  are  the  German 
“  Gesellschaft  zur  Forderung  der  Wissenschaft  des 
Judentums,”  which  is  issuing  a  series  of  authoritative 
works  on  all  branches  of  Jewish  history,  literature,  and 
theology,  publishes  a  Monatsschrift,  and  subventions 
learned  works  that  would  otherwise  be  unable  to  see 
the  light;  and  the  Russian  “  Society  for  the  Publication 
of  Jewish  Scientific  Works,”  which  has  published  a 
Jewish  encyclopaedia  in  sixteeen  volumes  and  is  now 
issuing  a  general  history  of  the  Jews  in  Russian. 
The  conservation  of  Jewish  culture  is  also  served  by  the 
popular  literary  societies  that  abound  in  nearly  every 
community,  by  the  historical  and  academic  societies  in 
the  principal  countries,  and  by  a  host  of  Jewish  libraries 
and  reading-rooms. 


CHAPTER  III 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 
GENERAL  CULTURE  AND  PROGRESS 

The  promotion  of  culture  in  mediaeval  and  modern  times — Con¬ 
tributions  to  Literature — Activity  in  Journalism — Drama  and 
Music — The  plastic  arts — Philosophy,  Scholarship,  Mathematics — 
Scientific  discovery  and  invention — The  advance  of  Medical  Science 
— Exploration — The  promotion  of  the  cause  of  universal  peace 

THE  intellectual  products  of  the  Jewish  people 
created  within  the  bosom  of  the  community  and 
bearing  the  specific  impress  of  their  origin  represent 
but  a  fraction  of  J ewish  achievements  in  the  world  of  culture. 
The  mind  of  the  Jew  was  never  absorbed  entirely  in  his 
traditional  lore  :  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  he  co¬ 
operated  in  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  and  the 
advancement  of  science  in  Europe,  distinguishing  himself 
particularly  in  the  fields  of  philosophy,  medicine,  astronomy, 
and  exploration.  The  Jews  gave  an  impetus  to  the 
progress  of  philosophical  thought  through  the  influence 
they  exercised  upon  the  Scholastic  movement ;  they 
founded  the  medical  schools  of  Montpellier  and  Salerno 
and  produced  most  of  the  famous  physicians  until  the 
sixteenth  century  ;  they  discovered  long  before  Copernicus 
the  cause  of  the  alternation  of  day  and  night ;  and  they 
not  only  contributed  in  men  and  means  to  the  voyage 
of  Columbus  but  also  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  dis¬ 
covery  of  the  East  Indies  and  explored  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  world  known  in  mediaeval  times.  Notable  as  their 
share  in  the  advances  of  civilization  had  already  been 
it  became  much  more  vigorous  after  their  admission  to  the 

rights  of  citizenship  and  their  adoption  of  modern  education, 

354 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  255 


and  it  steadily  grew  in  volume  and  importance  throughout 
the  nineteenth  century  until  there  is  now  not  a  single 
sphere  of  intellectual  effort  and  aspiration  in  which  they 
are  not  active.  In  the  fields  of  literature  and  journalism, 
of  the  drama,  music,  and  art,  philosophy  and  philology, 
mathematical  science  and  medical  research,,  technical 
invention  and  exploration,  and  in  the  highest  sphere  of 
human  activity — the  cause  of  peace — the  Jews  are  now 
working  side  by  side  with  the  members  of  other  nations, 
with  whom  they  can  bear  comparison  not  only  in  respect 
of  industry  and  capacity  but  also  in  respect  of  zeal  and 
self-sacrifice,  whilst  in  certain  spheres,  such  as  medicine, 
scientific  invention,  and  exploration  they  have  made 
original  contributions  of  surpassing  value.  Despite  the 
reproaches  of  clannishness  and  separatism,  the  Jews  are 
devoting  to  the  service  of  general  culture  and  progress  far 
more  energy  and  activity  than  they  display  in  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  their  own  national  literary  treasures,  and  in  the 
process  of  time  this  deflection  of  interest  is  likely  to  extend, 
unless  a  centripetal  force  should  arise  in  the  form  of  a 
vigorous  national  settlement  in  Palestine.  Their  share 
in  the  intellectual  labours  of  the  present  day  is  all  the 
more  striking  when  viewed  in  relation  to  their  proportion 
to  the  world’s  population,  and  a  brief  survey  will  suffice 
to  show  that  both  in  scope  and  worth  it  far  transcends  the 
grudging  estimate  of  writers  like  Houston  Chamberlain, 
who  would  deny  the  Jew  all  genius  and  creative  power. 
A  people  which  has  produced  four  such  epoch-makers 
as  Moses,  Jesus,  Spinoza,  and  Karl  Marx  has  amply 
justified  its  title  to  intellectual  and  spiritual  originality, 
and  a  consideration  of  the  achievements  of  such  men  as 
Heine,  Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,  Israels,  Ehrlich,  and  a 
host  of  others  who  have  won  renown  in  various  fields  of 
human  endeavour  in  our  own  time,  will  show  in  what  a 
high  degree  the  Jew  has  furthered  the  welfare  and  enhanced 
the  ideals  of  mankind. 

The  sphere  in  which  the  Jews  first  began  to  co-operate 
in  a  conspicuous  measure  with  their  fellow-citizens  in  the 
intellectual  world  was  that  of  literature.  Scarcely  had 


256  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


they  learned  the  language  of  their  country  than  they 
began  to  contribute  to  its  literary  treasury  as  poets  and 
novelists,  as  philosophers  and  historians,  as  essayists  and 
satirists.  The  creative  imagination  which  had  formerly 
revealed  itself  in  passionate  odes  to  Zion  now  found  its 
inspiration  nearer  at  hand,  in  the  life  of  the  surrounding 
people,  in  its  national  traditions,  its  intellectual  aspira¬ 
tions,  its  political  struggles.  The  ardour  with  which  the 
Jews  threw  themselves  into  the  intellectual  movements 
of  their  native  countries  is  best  illustrated  by  the  literary 
salons  of  Berlin  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which  owed  their 
creation  to  Jewish  women  like  Henriette  Herz,  Rahel 
Levin,  and  Dorothea  and  Henriette  Mendelssohn,  and 
the  glory  of  which  passed  away  with  their  charming 
creators.  It  is  in  Germany  that  the  share  of  the  Jews  in 
the  development  of  the  national  literature  has  been  more 
intimate  and  extensive  than  in  any  other  country.  From 
the  days  of  Moses  Mendelssohn,  who  laid  the  foundations 
of  German  aesthetics  and  literary  criticism,  radically 
influenced  the  Laokoon  of  Lessing,  and  introduced  the 
leading  thinkers  of  England  and  France  to  the  German 
public,  the  Jews  have  contributed  a  succession  of  notable 
works  to  German  literature  and  are  represented  in  all  its 
branches.  Heine,  the  most  splendid  lyrist  of  his  ungrateful 
country,  is  the  brightest  star  in  this  galaxy  of  Jewish 
writers,  which  includes  Ludwig  Boerne,  who  stirred  re¬ 
actionary  Prussia  with  his  political  writings,  Berthold 
Auerbach,  who  delighted  the  people  with  his  novels  for 
forty  years,  the  literary  historians  Karpeles  and  Geiger, 
and  a  score  or  more  of  eminent  living  writers — the  poets 
Hofmannsthal  and  Mombert,  the  novelists  Schnitzler, 
Georg  Hermann,  and  Jacob  Wassermann,  and  the  prince 
of  German  humorists,  Julius  Stettenheim.  The  fecundity 
and  originality  displayed  by  modern  Jewish  authors  has 
brought  upon  them  the  reproach  that  they  are  “  judaizing  ” 
German  literature  and  has  given  a  new  turn  to  Anti- 
Semitism,  but  an  impartial  critic  like  Kurt  Martens 
actually  assigns  them  a  certain  superiority  over  their 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  257 


Teutonic  fellow-writers  and  ventures  the  belief  that  “  the 
greatest  poetic  creations  of  our  German  future  will  some 
day  issue  from  a  blending  of  the  German  with  the  Jewish 
spirit.”  1  In  other  countries  the  part  played  by  Jews  in 
the  literary  world  is  of  somewhat  later  date,  but  it  is 
none  the  less  of  high  significance.  Denmark  has  produced 
the  greatest  literary  critic  of  the  day,  Georg  Brandes  ; 
in  Italy  we  meet  the  names  of  the  poet  Romanelli  and  the 
historian  of  Venice,  Romanin  ;  in  France,  that  delightful 
weaver  of  modern  romances,  Catulle  Mendes  ;  in  Holland, 
the  novelists  Heyermanns  and  Querido  ;  in  Hungary, 
the  popular  ballad-writer,  Joseph  Kiss  ;  in  Russia  the 
playwrights  Minski  and  Yushkevitch,  and  the  novelist 
Dymov;  and  in  England,  apart  from  Benjamin  Disraeli, 
who  was  brought  up  in  Christianity  from  childhood,  we 
have  the  novelist  and  playwright,  Israel  Zangwill ;  the 
editor  of  England’s  Dictionary  of  National  Biography , 
Sidney  Lee  ;  the  popularizer  of  Shakespearean  study,  Israel 
Gollancz  ;  the  versatile  biographer,  Lewis  Melville  ;  and  a 
score  of  writers  on  various  subjects.  Nor  can  we  overlook 
the  part  played  by  Jews  in  the  dissemination  of  literature, 
whether  as  translators  of  great  writers  (Maeterlinck, 
Nietzsche,  and  Hauptmann,  owing  their  English  versions 
to  Jews)  or  in  the  publishing  trade,  in  which  firms  like 
S.  Fischer  of  Berlin  and  Calmann  Levy  of  Paris  stand 
in  the  front  rank  of  their  respective  country. 

The  activity  displayed  in  the  realm  of  journalism  is 
even  more  extensive  than  in  that  of  literature.  It  com¬ 
prises  the  founding  of  the  leading  international  news 
agencies,  the  ownership  and  editorship  of  some  of  the 
leading  Continental  newspapers,  and  collaboration  on  a 
countless  host  of  papers  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The 
first  great  news  agency  that  established  a  systematic 
service  of  correspondence  in  all  parts  of  the  world  was 
that  created  by  Baron  Reuter,  whilst  the  agencies  of  Wolff 
and  Hirsch  are  of  not  less  importance  on  the  Continent. 
The  Berliner  Tageblatt,  Frankfurter  Zeitung ,  Neue  Freie 
Presse,  and  Pester  Lloyd,  four  of  the  leading  organs  in 
1  Kurt  Martens,  Literatur  in  Deutschland  (Berlin,  1910),  p.  161, 

J7 


258  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Central  Europe,  are  both  owned  and  edited  by  Jews,  but 
these  do  not  exhaust  the  list  of  periodicals  that  are  under 
their  entire  or  partial  control,  as  there  are  many  other 
journals  that  are  both  owned  and  edited  by  Jews,  or 
owned  by  Jews  and  edited  by  non- Jews,  or  owned  by 
non- Jews  and  edited  by  Jews.1  Thus,  the  Prager  Tageblatt, 
which  so  valiantly  defends  the  interests  of  the  German 
element  in  Bohemia,  has  a  Christian  proprietor,  but  its 
editorial  staff  is  mostly  made  up  of  Jews.  In  America 
the  New  York  World  was  first  raised  to  a  position  of 
influence  by  Joseph  Pulitzer,  and  the  New  York  Times  and 
Globe  are  also  under  Jewish  control.  As  for  Jewish 
collaboration  on  the  world’s  press,  whether  as  members 
of  the  editorial  staff,  external  contributors,  or  foreign 
correspondents,  their  name  is  indeed  legion,  and  many 
of  them  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  have  played 
an  important  part  in  the  political  world.  Suffice  it  to 
mention  such  names  2  as  Lucien  Wolf  in  England,  Bernard 
Lazare  and  Jean  Finot  (Finkelstein)  in  France,  Friedrich 
Dernburg,  Maximilian  Harden,  and  Theodor  Wolf  in  Ger¬ 
many,  Siegmund  Miinz  and  Heinrich  Friedjungin  Austria, 
and  Max  Nordau,  the  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Vossische 
Zeitung  and  the  Neue  Freie  Presse.  The  great  part  played 
by  the  Jews  in  the  newspaper  world  has  in  recent  years 
formed  the  ground  of  bitter  agitation  on  the  part  of  the 
Anti-Semites,  who  complained  that  they  use  their  position 
to  further  specific  Jewish  interests,  without  regard  to  the 
welfare  of  their  own  country.  But  repeatedly  as  this 
allegation  has  been  made,  not  a  shred  of  evidence  has 
yet  been  offered  in  its  support.  Such  papers  as  the 
Berliner  Tageblatt  and  the  Frankfurter  Zeitung  are  the 
best  edited  organs  of  Radical  opinion  in  Germany,  but 
they  foster  Jewish  interests  only  in  so  far  as  they  advocate 

1  The  Vossische  Zeitung,  after  a  career  of  more  than  two  hundred  years, 
has  also  recently  been  acquired  by  a  Jewish  firm,  Ullstein  &  Co.,  the  owners 
of  the  popular  Berlin  midday  paper  ( Berliner  Zeitung  am  Mittag)  and  other 
journals. 

2  Henri  de  Blowitz,  the  famous  Paris  correspondent  of  the  Times, 
vigorously  denied  that  he  was  of  Jewish  birth  {My  Memoirs.  London : 
Edward  Arnold,  1906). 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  259 


the  general  cause  of  political  progress  in  Germany — a 
policy  that  is  regarded  as  “  anti-national  ”  only  by  the 
Prussian  Junker  party.  The  fact  is  that  Jewish  journal¬ 
ists  are  almost  wholly  absorbed  in  the  politics  of  their 
respective  country,  are  generally  identified  with  a 
particular  party,  and  frequently  find  themselves  in 
opposing  camps  :  the  one  cause  that  unites  them  is  the 
cause  of  peace  which  certainly  nobody  can  characterize 
as  anti-patriotic.  Moreover,  a  good  portion  of  their 
activity  is  devoted  to  writings  of  a  non-political  nature 
among  which  they  have  cultivated  with  conspicuous 
success  the  fine  art  of  the  feuilleton. 

The  present  century  has  also  witnessed  an  increasing 
participation  by  Jews  in  the  many-sided  activity  of  the 
dramatic  world  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  whether  as 
playrights,  actors,  or  stage  managers.  There  is  not  a 
single  cultured  country  in  which  one  cannot  in  the  course 
of  the  winter  season  see  some  drama  that  has  either  been 
written  by  a  Jew,  or  in  which  a  leading  part  is  played 
by  a  J  ew,  or  which  is  under  Jewish  stage-management. 
Alfred  Sutro  and  Israel  Zangwill  in  England,  David 
Belasco  in  America,  Henri  Bernstein  in  France,  Ludwig 
Fulda  and  Oscar  Blumenthal  in  Germany,  Arthur 
Schnitzler  in  Austria,  Herman  Heyermanns  in  Holland, 
and  Henry  Nathansen  in  Denmark — these  are  among 
the  best  known  and  most  popular  playrights  of  the 
present  day,  and  they  do  not  by  any  means  exhaust 
the  roll  of  living  Jewish  dramatists.  As  directors  and 
managers  of  theatres  the  Jews  are  numerously  repre¬ 
sented  in  Germany  and  Austria,  and  the  most  famous  of 
them,  Max  Reinhardt,  has  created  an  artistic  revolution 
in  the  production  of  plays.  To  the  stage,  for  which  the 
Jew  is  particularly  fitted  by  temperament,  Jewry  has 
presented  such  notable  figures  as  Rachel  Felix,  the  most 
thrilling  interpreter  of  Corneille  and  Racine,  Adolf  von 
Sonnenthal,  the  greatest  actor  of  Austria,  and  Ludwig 
Barnay,  acclaimed  by  German  critics  as  a  histrionic  genius  ; 
and  from  its  midst  has  sprung  the  greatest  actress  of  the 
present  day,  Sarah  Bernhardt,  as  well  as  a  host  of  actors 


26o 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  actresses  of  eminent  rank.  In  the  allied  world  of 
music  we  also  encounter  a  number  of  illustrious  names, 
belonging  partly  to  a  former  generation  and  partly  to  this, 
and  sufficing  to  rebut  the  charge  of  Wagner  that  Jews 
were  devoid  of  musical  genius.  Among  eminent  composers 
are  Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,  Meyerbeer,  Offenbach,  Gold- 
mark,  Bruch,  Fromenthal  Halevy,  and  Frederic  Cowen  ; 
whilst  the  famous  instrumentalists  of  the  present  genera¬ 
tion  include  Joseph  Joachim,  Mark  Hambourg,  Mischa 
Elman,  and  Ephraim  Zimbalist,  whose  performances  have 
entranced  crowded  and  critical  audiences  throughout  the 
globe.  Jews  are  also  munificent  patrons  of  the  opera  and 
the  concert-hall  and  generously  befriend  the  struggling 
genius.  The  light  comic  opera,  which  is  now  so  much  in 
vogue,  has  been  cultivated  with  conspicuous  success  by 
Oscar  Straus,  Leo  Fall,  Jean  Gilbert  (Max  Winterfeld), 
and  the  music-hall  or  variety  theatre  is  also  recruiting  its 
artists  in  an  increasing  measure  from  the  Jewish  fold, 
which  likewise  provides  a  great  number  of  theatrical  agents 
and  impresarios. 

The  plastic  arts  form  a  comparatively  new  field  of 
activity  for  the  Jew,  but  he  has  already  achieved  enough 
to  win  the  world’s  recognition  of  his  genius  therein.  It 
had,  indeed,  long  been  maintained  that  the  Jew  had  no 
capacity  for  the  plastic  arts,  and  the  anti-Semite  Diihring 
maintained  that  the  religious  prohibition  of  artistic  repre¬ 
sentation  was  designed  to  conceal  an  inborn  incompetence. 
But  this  reproach  has  long  been  rolled  away  by  the  mag¬ 
nificent  work  of  Jewish  painters  and  sculptors  displayed 
during  the  last  half-century  in  the  leading  art  galleries  of 
the  world.  Josef  Israels  was  acknowledged  to  be  the 
greatest  representative  of  modern  Dutch  art ;  Marc 
Antokolski  was  the  most  eminent  sculptor  of  Russia  ;  Max 
Liebermann  is  modern  Germany’s  most  original  and  dis¬ 
tinctive  painter  ;  Solomon  J.  Solomon  is  among  the  leading 
artists  of  England  ;  whilst  in  France  Camille  Pissaro,  in 
Austria  Leopold  Horowitz,  in  Italy  Leopold  Poliak,  and  in 
Poland  Leopold  Pilichowski,  have  all  given  proof  of  the 
capacity  of  the  Jew  to  shine  in  the  plastic  arts  if  only  he 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  261 


is  allowed  the  opportunity.  One  of  the  most  brilliant 
sculptors  of  America  is  Moses  Ezekiel,  whose  works  are 
also  to  be  seen  in  London  and  Paris,  in  Berlin  and  Rome  ; 
whilst  another  original  sculptor,  Jacob  Epstein,  is  the 
author  of  the  striking  monument  to  Heine  in  the  cemetery 
of  Montmartre.  The  sons  of  Israel  have  also  achieved  fame 
in  other  branches  of  art  :  Hermann  Struck  as  an  etcher, 
Henry  Ospovat  as  a  bold  caricaturist,1  and  Leon  Bakst 
as  a  brilliant  designer  of  scenery  and  costumes  for  the 
theatre. 

The  versatility  of  the  Jewish  mind  is  illustrated  by 
its  distinction  in  philosophy  and  philology,  archaeology  and 
law,  mathematics  and  chess.  The  Jews  have  made  good 
use  of  the  right  to  study  at  the  universities,  which  was 
originally  denied  to  them,  for  they  now  occupy  professorial 
chairs  in  almost  all  subjects,  in  most  of  the  great  seats  of 
learning  in  Europe  and  America,  and  have  advanced  the 
bounds  of  human  knowledge  in  countless  directions.  The 
metaphysical  world  is  now  dominated  by  Henri  Berg¬ 
son’s  idea  of  creative  evolution,  which  has  exercised  as 
as  profound  an  influence  as  the  teachings  of  Kant,2  whilst 
the  development  of  philosophical  thought  in  the  nineteenth 
century  received  a  notable  impetus  from  Hermann  Cohen, 
who  moulded  the  minds  of  Germany’s  Radical  thinkers  at 
the  Marburg  University,  and  from  Hermann  Stein thal,  who 
founded  the  science  of  racial  psychology.  The  history  of 
philological  science  is  studded  with  J ewish  names  :  Graziadio 
Ascoli  opened  out  new  paths  in  the  study  of  comparative 
philology  and  the  science  of  phonology  ;  Arminius  Vambery 
traced  the  origin  of  the  Magyar  tongue  and  mastered  all 
the  languages  and  dialects  of  Central  Asia  ;  Michel  Breal 
wrote  an  annotated  translation  of  Bopp’s  epoch-making 
Comparative  Grammar  of  the  Indo-European  languages, 
which  is  regarded  as  superior  to  the  original ;  James 
Darmesteter  translated  the  Avesta  into  both  English  and 
French  and  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Persian  and 
Afghan  tongues,  and  his  brother  Arsene,  with  Adolphe 

1  The  Work  of  Henry  Ospovat.  With  an  appreciation  by  Oliver 
Onions  (London  :  St.  Catherine  Press,  1911). 

2  Bergson  is  the  first  Jew  to  be  elected  to  the  French  Academy. 


262 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Hatzfeld,  compiled  a  Frenph  dictionary  that  superseded 
the  work  of  Littre  ;  Joseph  and  Hartwig  Derenbourg  have 
thrown  light  upon  the  Himyaritic  and  Sabaean  inscrip¬ 
tions  ;  and  Ignaz  Goldziher  was  the  first  to  give  a  critical 
history  of  Arabic  traditions.  In  the  study  of  archaeology 
Jules  Oppert  was  the  first  who  definitely  identified  the  site 
of  ancient  Babylon  and  led  the  way  in  the  interpretation 
of  its  contract  tablets ;  Salomon  Reinach  has  made  im¬ 
portant  researches  in  Roman  and  Greek  archaeology ;  and 
Charles  Waldstein  has  conducted  excavations  on  the  site 
of  ancient  Plataea.  In  the  field  of  jurisprudence  Tobias 
Asser  in  Holland  and  Josef  Unger  in  Austria  have  made 
masterly  and  enduring  contributions  to  the  theory  and 
practice  of  international  law.  From  the  formidable  list 
of  eminent  mathematicians  it  must  suffice  to  mention  Georg 
Cantor,  who  invented  the  theory  of  transfinite  numbers, 
and  Karl  Jacobi,  who  made  epoch-making  discoveries  in 
the  field  of  elliptical  functions  ;  Minkowski,  who  is  a 
leading  authority  on  the  theory  of  numbers,  and  Weingarten, 
whose  authority  is  supreme  on  the  theory  of  surfaces  ; 
Schwarzschild,  the  director  of  the  Potsdam  Observatory, 
and  Slonimski,  the  inventor  of  a  counting-machine ; 
Hadamard,  the  author  of  “  Hadamard’s  theorem/’  and 
James  Sylvester,  who  discovered  the  proof  and  extension 
of  Newton’s  theorem  on  the  imaginary  roots  of  equations 
and  shared  with  his  collaborator  Cayley  the  leadership  in 
pure  mathematics  in  England  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  genius  of  the  Jew  for  pure  mathematics  explains  his 
supremacy  in  the  game  of  chess,  the  champions  of  which — 
Zuckertort,  Steinitz,  Lasker — have  all  sprung  from  the 
Jewish  fold. 

The  achievements  of  the  Jew  in  the  world  of  science 
are  even  more  striking,  for  to  him  are  due  some  of  the 
most  wonderful  discoveries  and  inventions  of  the  last 
hundred  years.1  It  was  Ferdinand  Cohn  and  Nathaniel 
Pringsheim  who  revolutionized  the  study  of  botany  by 
their  discoveries  concerning  the  sexuality  of  plants  and 

1  For  a  fuller  account  of  Jewish  achievements  in  scientific  invention  as 
well  as  in  medical  research,  see  Juden  als  Erfmder  und  Entdecker,  by  Ernst 
Heppner  (“  Welt  ”  Verlag,  Berlin,  1913). 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  263 


who  created  the  first  institutes  for  botanical  physiology  in 
Germany.  It  was  Josef  Oesterreicher  who  discovered 
Glauber  salts,  Aaron  Aaronsohn  who  discovered  primitive 
wild  wheat  in  Palestine,  Hermann  Goldschmidt  who  dis¬ 
covered  several  minor  planets,  Gabriel  Lippman  who'  dis¬ 
covered  the  process  of  colour  photography,  Josef  Popper 
who  discovered  the  transmission  of  power  by  electricity, 
Albert  Michelson  who  determined  the  velocity  of  light, 
and  Heinrich  Hertz  who,  by  his  researches  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  electro-magnetic  waves,  paved  the  way  for  wireless 
telegraphy.  The  electro-thermometer  owes  its  invention 
to  Peter  Ries,  the  microphone  and  gramophone  were 
invented  by  Emil  Berliner,  the  Graetzin  light  owes  its 
name  to  Leo  Graetz  (son  of  the  Jewish  historian,  Heinrich 
Graetz),  and  the  discovery  and  preparation  of  petroleum 
for  lighting  purposes  were  made  by  Abraham  Schreiner,  a 
Galician  tradesman,  in  1853,  a  year  before  its  discovery  in 
America.  Moreover,  there  are  four  important  inventions 
that  were  anticipated  by  Jews,  but  which,  owing  to  lack  of 
means  and  the  caprice  of  fate,  they  were  unable  to  perfect 
and  put  upon  the  market.  Thus,  the  first  electric  auto¬ 
mobile  was  created  by  M.  Davidsohn  in  1854,  the 
benzine  automobile  by  Siegfried  Marcus  in  1875,  the  first 
electric  telephone  by  Philipp  Reis  in  i860  (seventeen  years 
before  the  improved  invention  by  Graham  Bell),  and  the 
first  rigid  airship  by  David  Schwarz  in  1892.  The  fate  of 
Schwarz,  who  struggled  for  years  to  secure  the  acceptance 
of  his  invention,  was  particularly  sad,  for  after  futile 
negotiations  with  the  Austrian  and  Russian  Governments 
he  approached  the  German  Government,  and  when  at 
last,  on  13th  January  1897,  a  telegram  from  the  German 
War  Office,  summoning  him  to  Berlin  for  a  trial  flight, 
reached  him  in  the  street,  he  was  so  overwhelmed 
with  joy  that  he  fell  dead  on  the  spot.  It  was  not 
until  after  the  ascent  of  Schwarz’s  vessel,  which  took 
place  in  the  presence  of  Count  Zeppelin,  that  the  latter 
proceeded  to  construct  his  first  airship,  for  which  he 
obtained  the  aluminium  and  propellers  from  the  same 
works  as  Schwarz.1 

1  The  pioneer  of  flying  in  Germany  was  also  a  Jew,  Otto  Lilienthal,  to 


264  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Equally  impressive  is  the  record  of  Jewish  achieve¬ 
ment  in  the  manifold  advance  of  medical  science,  which 
from  the  earliest  time  has  numbered  Jews  among  its 
ablest  and  most  zealous  practitioners.  The  most  remark¬ 
able  discovery  of  our  day,  salvarsan,  is  due  to  the  Jew 
Paul  Ehrlich,  the  value  of  whose  specific  in  suppressing 
the  most  maleficent  disease  of  mankind  was  unanimously 
acknowledged  at  the  last  International  Medical  Congress 
in  London  (August  1913)  ;  and  to  the  same  branch  of 
therapeutics  belongs  the  test  discovered  by  August  von 
Wasserman,  from  whom  it  has  received  its  name.  The 
researches  and  discoveries  of  Jewish  physicians  in  other 
branches  of  medical  science  are  also  of  commanding  import¬ 
ance.  Albert  Neisser,  in  1879,  the  a£e  °f  twenty-four, 
discovered  the  bacillus  of  gonorrhoea,  and  introduced 
the  method  of  local  treatment  which  has  since  been  uni¬ 
versally  adopted.  Albert  Frankel  was  the  first  to  expound 
the  theory  of  the  micrococci  of  pneumonia ;  Ludwig 
Traube  was  one  of  the  greatest  specialists  of  his  day  in 
experimental  pathology  and  wrote  many  epoch-making 
monographs  on  digitalis,  fever,  and  diseases  of  the  lungs, 
heart,  and  kidneys  ;  Benedikt  Stilling  was  the  first  surgeon 
to  introduce  ovariotomy  into  Germany  (1837),  and  works 
on  the  central  organs  of  the  nervous  system  were  crowned 
by  the  French  Institute ;  Salomon  Strieker  made  important 
discoveries  in  the  histology  of  the  cornea  and  the  mechanism 
of  lymphatic  secretion  ;  Sir  Felix  Semon  is  the  leading 
English  specialist  in  throat  diseases  and  was  physician  ex¬ 
traordinary  to  King  Edward  ;  Waldemar  Haffkine,  who 
was  commissioned  by  the  Government  of  India  to  inquire 
into  the  bacteriology  of  the  plague  in  that  country,  dis¬ 
covered  a  method  of  inoculaton  by  which  he  reduced  the 
mortality  nearly  90  per  cent,  and  founded  the  Govern¬ 
ment  Plague  Research  Laboratory  which  issues  thousands 
of  doses  to  various  tropical  countries ;  Friedrich  Gustav 
Henle  wrote  standard  works  embodying  notable  dis¬ 
coveries  concerning  the  cuticular  root-sheath  of  the  hair, 

whom  a  public  monument  has  just  been  unveiled  (17th  June  1914)  near 
Berlin,  on  the  spot  on  which,  in  1896,  he  met  his  death  while  ex¬ 
perimenting. 


CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  GENERAL  CULTURE  265 


the  microscopical  structure  of  the  cornea,  and  the  “  loops 
of  Henle  ”  in  the  kidneys  ;  Ludwig  Jacobson,  in  1809, 
discovered  a  hitherto  unknown  absorptive  organ  in  the 
human  nose,  which  was  named  “  the  Jacobsonian  organ,” 
and  invented  several  surgical  appliances ;  Cesare  Lombroso 
discovered  the  cause  of  pellagra,  wrote  epoch-making  works 
on  genius  and  crime,  and  “  effected  a  revolution  in  the 
mode  of  viewing  both  the  criminal  and  the  crime  which 
has  found  expression  in  the  newer  penal  codes  ”  1 ;  Alex¬ 
ander  Marmorek  discovered  an  antidote  for  tuberculosis ; 
and  David  Nabarro  co-operated  in  the  discovery  of  the 
origin  of  sleeping  sickness. 

Wanderers  as  the  Jews  have  always  been  against  their 
will,  they  have  also  travelled  in  the  interests  of  science 
and  brought  light  into  unknown  regions  in  various  parts 
of  the  earth.  Arminius  Vambery  was  the  first  European 
who,  at  the  peril  of  his  life  and  in  the  disguise  of  a  Sunnite 
dervish,  penetrated  through  the  Great  Salt  Desert  to 
Samarcand  and  Herat.  Emin  Pasha,  whose  real  name 
was  Eduard  Schnitzer,  explored  the  Lakes  Victoria  and 
Albert  Nyanza  and  was  killed  by  a  band  of  semi- Arabs. 
Hermann  Burchardt  explored  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor 
and  the  Yemen  and  was  murdered  on  the  road  from  Mokha 
to  Sanaa,  and  Eduard  Glaser  explored  the  whole  of  South 
Arabia  with  results  that  have  revolutionized  the  study  of 
its  ancient  monuments  and  of  the  history  and  geography 
of  ancient  Arabia.  Marc  Aurel  Stein  has  made  remark¬ 
able  archaeological  discoveries  in  Chinese  Turkestan  ;  Max 
von  Oppenheim  has  unearthed  the  long-buried  capital  of 
a  Hittite  Empire  in  Central  Mesopotamia ;  Waldemar 
Jochelson  has  roamed  through  Northern  Siberia  and  dis¬ 
covered  among  the  aborigines  two  Yukaghir  dialects 
hitherto  considered  extinct;  and  Angelo  Heilprin  scaled  the 
heights  of  Orizaba  and  Popocatepetl  and  led  the  Peary 
Relief  Expedition  to  Greenland.  Even  Nansen  is  a  grand¬ 
son  of  a  Russian  Jew  named  Nathansohn,  and  Sven  Hedin 
is  likewise  the  grandson  of  a  Jew,  so  that  it  should  not 
surprise  us  to  learn  that  Columbus  was  also  of  Jewish 
descent. 

1  Dr.  Max  Nordau  in  the  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  viii.  p.  155. 


266 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing  spheres  of  activity  in 
which  Jews  have  contributed  so  much  to  the  enlighten¬ 
ment  and  betterment  of  mankind,  to  the  increase  of  know¬ 
ledge  and  the  decrease  of  suffering,  they  have  also  laboured 
in  other  directions  upon  a  broad  cosmopolitan  plane  for 
the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  humanity.  Imre  Kiralfy 
has  organized  international  exhibitions ;  David  Lubin 
founded  the  International  Agricultural  Institute  at  Rome  ; 
Ludwig  Zamenhof  created  the  most  popular  of  inter¬ 
national  tongues,  Esperanto  ;  Felix  Adler  has  striven  to 
banish  religious  strife  by  the  propagation  of  ethical  culture; 
Ivan  Blioch  preached  the  futility  of  modern  war  long 
before  Norman  Angell  and  inspired  the  convening  of  the 
Hague  Conferences  ;  and  Alfred  Fried  is  the  most  assiduous 
apostle  of  the  gospel  of  peace.1 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  record  of  Jewish  achievement  in 
the  various  spheres  of  intellectual  and  idealist  effort.  It 
represents  but  a  partial  picture,  however,  of  the  labours  of 
Jewry,  for  it  contains  the  names  only  of  those  who  have 
attained  to  more  than  local  eminence  ;  but  there  are 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  who,  if  endowed  with 
less  genius,  are  working  with  equal  zeal  and  industry 
in  the  various  arts  of  civilization.  This  mere  outline, 
however,  attests  an  immense  and  impressive  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  advancement  of  the  culture  and  progress 
of  humanity,  and  yet  it  is  the  product,  only  of  the 
smaller  half  of  Jewry,  the  half  that  has  had  the  good 
fortune  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  freedom  and  educa¬ 
tion.  Who  can  say,  when  the  cloud  of  oppression  that 
still  enwraps  the  greater  half  has  passed  away  and  the 
slumbering  talents  of  nameless  myriads  have  been  quick¬ 
ened  into  play,  what  further  conquests  in  the  realm  of 
science,  what  further  creations  in  the  realm  of  fancy,  will 
yet  be  added  by  Jewish  genius  to  the  enrichment  of 
mankind  ? 

1  In  1911  the  Nobel  Prize  for  the  preservation  of  peace  was  divided 
between  Alfred  Fried  and  the  late  Tobias  Asser.  In  1907  the  Nobel  Prize 
for  physics  was  awarded  to  Professor  Albert  Michelson,  and  in  1908  the 
prize  for  physics  was  awarded  to  Gabriel  Lippman,  and  that  for  medicine 
to  Professor  Paul  Ehrlich.  In  1910  the  Nobel  Prize  for  literature  was 
awarded  to  Paul  Heyse,  who  had  a  Jewish  mother. 


BOOK  VI 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ASPECT 

INTRODUCTION 

Religion  the  prime  factor  in  the  conservation  of  Jewry — Its 
waning  influence  in  modern  times 

RELIGION  is  the  chief  dynamic  force  of  Jewish  life. 
It  is  the  principal  power  that  has  protected  the 
Jewish  people  from  the  ceaseless  assaults  that  have 
been  aimed  against  it  throughout  the  ages.  It  has  endowed 
Israel  with  a  sublime  system  of  ethical  ideals,  and  found 
concrete  expression  in  a  number  of  institutions  that  form 
the  essential  basis  of  every  community.  Without  Judaism 
Jewry  could  not  have  survived  the  sufferings  and  struggles 
of  its  long  and  widespread  dispersion  ;  without  adhesion 
to  the  principles  and  practices  of  their  faith,  which  necessi¬ 
tated  segregation  and  excluded  intermarriage,  the  Jews 
would  long  ago  have  become  absorbed  among  the  nations. 
Other  nations  could  exist  without  a  distinctive  religion,  for 
they  had  their  land,  which  formed  the  basis  of  their  national 
existence  ;  but  for  the  Jews,  who  were  bereft  of  their  land, 
a  distinctive  religion — a  faith  which  marked  them  off 
from  all  other  peoples  and  united  them  in  their  dispersion 
— was  the  prime  necessity  of  their  existence.  Their  dis¬ 
persion  necessarily  involved  local  differences  of  ecclesiastical 
organization,  for  whilst  in  the  countries  in  which  they 
enjoy  absolute  equality  in  civil  and  political  life,  such  as 
England  and  America,  they  have  no  relations  with  the 
Government  on  the  basis  of  their  synagogical  unions,  they 
are,  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  under  the  direct  or 

267 


268 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


indirect  supervision  of  the  State  in  their  ordering  of  their 
religious  affairs. 

Despite  these  differences  of  organization,  however,  and 
despite  local  differences  of  custom  and  ritual,  the  great 
bulk  of  Jewry  was  until  comparatively  recent  times 
bound  together  by  a  unity  of  faith  which  is  almost  without 
parallel  in  the  family  of  religions.  This  unity  was  due  to  a 
strong  attachment  to  tradition,  which  held  undisputed 
sway  in  every  land  until  it  was  weakened,  first,  by  the  dis¬ 
illusion  that  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  false  Messiahs ; 
secondly,  by  the  rationalism  and  scepticism  diffused  by 
modern  education  ;  and  thirdly,  by  civil  and  political  eman¬ 
cipation,  which  promoted  social  intercourse  between  Jews 
and  Christians.  The  consequences  of  these  various  move¬ 
ments  were  that  an  increasing  number  of  Jews  deserted 
the  fold  in  almost  every  country  and  intermarried  with 
their  Christian  neighbours,  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  reform  the  principles  and  customs 
of  Judaism  in  accordance  with  the  modern  ideas  generated 
by  the  spirit  of  the  time  and  the  influence  of  a  liberal  en¬ 
vironment.  These  reforming  efforts,  however,  have  failed  to 
check  the  secessions  that  are  steadily  going  on,  for  the 
sovereignty  of  religious  idealism  has  been  usurped  by 
material  expediency.  Hence  the  most  powerful  bond  that 
kept  the  Jews  together  since  the  first  day  of  their  exile 
has  lost  its  pristine  vigour,  and  they  are  slipping  slowly 
and  steadily  from  its  grasp  and  becoming  absorbed  among 
the  nations  around  them. 


CHAPTER  I 


ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION 

The  Synagogue  the  basis  of  the  community — Complementary 
religious  institutions — Religious  organization  in  England,  America, 
and  on  the  Continent — Ecclesiastical  administration — The  training 
of  the  Rabbi — Varieties  of  Synagogue  ritual 

ORGANIZATION  for  religious  purposes  forms  the 
basic  foundation  of  every  Jewish  community. 
However  numerous  its  social  and  educational  insti¬ 
tutions  may  be,  however  vigorous  its  economic  and  political 
life,  every  community  owes  its  origin  to  the  desire  of  its 
earliest  members  to  meet  together  for  public  worship.  As 
soon  as  there  are  in  a  town  ten  adult  males  above  the  age 
of  thirteen — the  minimum  quorum  necessary  for  congrega¬ 
tional  service — they  assemble  in  the  house  of  one  of  their 
number  or  in  a  hired  room  for  common  prayer  on  Sabbaths 
and  festivals.  If  the  spirit  of  piety  in  their  midst  is  not 
strong  enough  to  draw  them  together  every  Sabbath  they 
are  at  least  impelled  by  their  racial  consciousness  to  cele¬ 
brate  the  festivals  with  their  historic  memories  and  symbolic 
ceremonies  ;  but  should  they  be  deaf  even  to  the  appeal 
of  these  hallowed  associations  they  can  rarely  resist  the 
solemn  call  of  the  New  Year  and  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
which  summons  the  children  of  Israel  in  all  lands  to  prayer 
and  penitence.  With  the  lapse  of  time  the  little  com¬ 
munity  outgrows  its  modest  meeting-place  and  must  build 
unto  itself  a  synagogue,  a  task  in  which  it  is  usually  aided 
by  co-religionists  from  neighbouring  towns  and  the  metro¬ 
polis  ;  and  the  conduct  of  the  service,  which  was  formerly 
read  simply  by  a  layman,  is  now  entrusted  to  a  professional 
cantor,  the  Chazan,  who  intones  the  prayers  according 
to  the  traditional  melodies  with  expert  ability.  The 

269 


2  JO 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


founders  of  the  community  are  thus  the  builders  of  its 
first  synagogue.  A  further  increase  of  the  congregation 
enables  it  to  appoint  a  Rabbi  in  addition  to  the  cantor, 
and  the  continued  growth  of  the  community,  whether  by 
natural  accretion  or  immigration,  results  in  the  rise  of 
other  synagogues,  some  of  which  are  founded  by  groups 
of  fellow-townsmen  from  another  country.  Thus,  in 
London,  New  York,  and  other  great  cities  in  the  West  there 
are  numerous  houses  of  prayer,  called  Chevroth  (“  Brother¬ 
hoods”),  bearing  the  name  of  the  native  place  of  their 
founders,  such  as  the  “  Lodz  Chevrah  ”  or  “  Cracow 
Congregation/’  a  phenomenon  attesting  the  local  patriot¬ 
ism  of  the  Jew. 

The  synagogue  is  the  basic  religious  institution  of  the 
community,  but  it  by  no  means  suffices  for  the  variety  of 
its  spiritual  needs  and  religious  requirements,  and  hence 
it  must  be  supplemented  by  a  series  of  other  institutions. 
First  comes  the  schoolroom,  generally  situated  on  the 
premises  of  the  synagogue  itself,  in  which  the  children 
are  taught  the  Hebrew  language  and  the  tenets  of  Judaism. 
Secondly  comes  the  slaughter-house,  in  which  cattle  and 
poultry  that  are  permitted  to  be  eaten  are  killed  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  Rabbinical  law  to  provide  kosher  meat.  Next 
comes  the  Mikvah ,  or  bath  for  ritual  purification,  which  is 
far  more  prevalent  in  the  East  than  in  the  West ;  and  then 
a  separate  cemetery  consecrated  to  the  reception  of  the 
dead.  In  the  West,  and  among  those  assimilated  to 
Western  modes  of  life,  the  schoolroom  is  for  the  use  of  the 
children.  But  in  the  East,  and  among  those  settled  in  the 
West  who  still  preserve  the  ways  of  the  East,  the  school¬ 
room  is  a  Beth  Hamidrash,  a  “house  of  study”  in  which 
adult  congregants  foregather  at  night  for  the  study  of  the 
Talmud  under  the  guidance  of  the  Rabbi,  and  in  which  even 
during  the  day  pious  greybeards  meditate  over  the  fathom¬ 
less  wonders  of  theTorah.  In  such  communities  the  children 
receive  religious  instruction  in  a  private  school  ( Cheder ) 
kept  by  a  teacher  in  his  own  house,  or  in  a  publicly  sup¬ 
ported  institution  called  a  Talmud  Torah  (“  Study  of  the 
Law  ”).  The  provision  of  kosher  meat  in  a  populous 


THE  EVE  OF  ATONEMENT  DAY 


FROM  THE  RELIEF  HY  HEKRYCK  HOCHMAN 


, 


I  j  I 


ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION  271 


centre  demands  several  abattoirs,  equipped  by  a  large 
staff  of  licensed  slaughterers,  and  controlled  by  a  board 
representing  the  various  synagogues  in  the  town,  called  the 
Board  of  Shechitah  (“  Slaughtering  ”).  The  religious  require¬ 
ments  of  the  community  as  regards  food  are  not  complete, 
however,  until  it  also  possesses  a  bakery  for  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  bread  and  cakes,  and  a  dairy  for  the  supply  of  milk 
and  butter,  according  to  Jewish  ritual  law.  The  cemetery 
is  generally  under  the  administration  of  the  council  of  the 
synagogue  or  of  a  union  of  synagogues,  but  it  is  occasionally 
controlled  by  an  independent  Burial  Society  ;  whilst  the 
final  rites  connected  with  the  interment  of  the  dead  are 
usually  discharged  by  the  Chevrah  Kadisha,  a  “  Holy 
Brotherhood  ”  whose  members  are  animated  by  a  high 
sense  of  religious  duty. 

The  foregoing  description  of  the  growth  of  a  congregation 
applies  in  essentials  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  reflects 
the  usual  course  of  development  in  all  English-speaking 
countries,  where  the  State  does  not  interfere  with  the 
religious  liberty  of  its  Jewish  subjects,  who  may 
establish  congregations  and  build  synagogues  whenever 
they  please,  but  it  is  subject  to  certain  qualifications  on 
the  Continent.  It  is  true  that  the  constitution  of  the 
London  United  Synagogue  was  approved  by  Act  of 
Parliament,  but  this  measure  was  desired  by  the  founders*, 
of  the  United  Synagogue  themselves  and  was  not 
dictated  by  the  State.  It  is  because  of  the  complete 
liberty  allowed  by  the  civil  authority,  both  national  and 
municipal,  that  the  ecclesiastical  system  of  Jewry  in 
English  countries  consists  mainly  of  separate  congregations, 
each  of  which  is  independent  of  and  unconnected  with  the 
other.  Apart  from  the  United  Synagogue  and  the  Feder¬ 
ation  of  Synagogues  in  London  there  is  no  other  ecclesiastical 
union  in  British  Jewry,  but  the  Chief  Rabbi  of  the  United 
Synagogue  is  also  elected  by  representatives  of  other  con¬ 
gregations  in  England  and  the  British  Colonies,  and  is  thus 
recognized  as  the  spiritual  head  of  the  majority  of  the 
J ews  in  the  British  Empire.  In  the  United  States,  however, 
every  congregation  is  a  law  unto  itself,  though  conferences 


272 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


both  of  the  Orthodox  and  of  the  Reform  Rabbis  are  held 
periodically  to  discuss  religious  questions  and  decide  upon 
common  action. 

On  the  Continent  the  tutelage  exercised  by  the  Govern¬ 
ment  over  its  Jewish  community  in  the  Middle  Ages  has  been 
preserved  for  the  most  part  to  the  present  day,  though  in 
Western  Europe  it  has  assumed  a  constitutional  form,  free 
from  any  despotic  or  humiliating  feature.  In  Germany  and 
Austria  every  Jew  must  be  a  member  of  the  congregation 
in  his  town  and  contribute  the  tax  imposed  upon  him  (an 
obligation  that  is  enforced,  if  necessary,  by  the  civil 
authority),  and  only  those  are  exempted  from  this  duty 
who  take  the  extreme  step  of  formally  renouncing  their 
Judaism  by  declaring  themselves  confessionslos  (“  re¬ 
ligionless  ”).  The  formation  of  congregations  and  their 
approval  by  the  local  or  central  Government  is  com¬ 
pulsory  in  these  countries,  but  there  is  no  uniformity 
in  either  of  them  as  regards  the  exact  measure  of  con¬ 
trol  exercised  by  the  civil  authority.  In  Wiirttemberg, 
Baden,  Hesse,  and  Mecklenburg,  the  congregations  are 
administered  by  a  central  board  directly  responsible  to  the 
Government,  which  sanctions  the  election  of  Rabbis  ;  but 
in  Prussia  there  is  no  central  board,  and  each  community 
can  create  its  own  ecclesiastical  organization,  though  under 
the  general  supervision  of  the  State.  In  Austria  and 
Hungary  there  is  likewise  local  autonomy,  but  in  Moravia 
the  committee  of  every  congregation  must  be  reported  to 
the  police  and  the  election  of  a  Rabbi  must  be  confirmed  by 
the  authorities.  In  France,  since  the  Act  of  Separation,  the 
ecclesiastical  organization  of  the  Jews  is  free  from  Govern¬ 
ment  control,  but  the  system  of  consistories  originated  by 
Napoleon  I,  with  a  central  council  in  Paris,  is  still  main¬ 
tained,  a  system  that  likewise  prevails  in  Holland,  Belgium, 
and  Alsace- Loraine.  In  Russia,  as  in  Central  Europe,  every 
Jew  must  belong  to  some  congregation,  whilst  new  con¬ 
gregations  can  be  formed  only  with  the  permission  of  the 
Government.  Moreover,  every  congregation  usually  has 
two  Rabbis  :  a  spiritual  head  elected  by  itself,  and  a 
second  chief,  the  “  Crown  Rabbi/'  appointed  by  the 


ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION  273 


Government  to  keep  the  registry  of  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths  ;  but  there  is  no  Chief  Rabbi  for  the  entire  Empire 
or  for  any  province.  In  Turkey  there  is  an  elaborate  system 
of  communal  organization,  governed  by  a  national  council,  a 
temporal  council,  and  a  spiritual  council  ;  and  the  Chief 
Rabbi,  whose  election  requires  the  sanction  of  the  Govern¬ 
ment,  is  endowed  by  it  with  high  powers  of  authority  over 
the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  whole  of  Ottoman  Jewry. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  there  is  no  central  religious 
authority  in  Israel,  no  single  ecclesiastical  dignitary  who 
exercises  a  universal  overlordship.  Each  country  is  inde¬ 
pendent  of  the  other  ;  for  the  most  part  each  local  con¬ 
gregation  is  independent  of  the  others  in  the  same  country  ; 
and  even  each  synagogue  is  independent  of  others  in  the 
same  town.  But  what  binds  the  great  majority  of  con¬ 
gregations  together  and  supplies  an  element  of  uniformity 
is  the  accepted  authority  of  traditional  law  as  embodied  in 
the  Talmud  and  codified  in  Joseph  Caro’s  Shulchan  Aruch 
(“  Table  Prepared  ”).  It  is  in  conformity  with  these  codes 
that  most  of  the  Chief  Rabbis,  be  their  diocese  an  Empire, 
a  country,  or  merely  a  congregation,  conduct  their 
administration,  though  personal  proclivities  and  local  cir¬ 
cumstances  produce  a  certain  variety  of  attitude  to  laws 
that  are  not  of  fundamental  importance.  The  Chief  Rabbi 
usually  performs  his  ecclesiastical  functions  through  the 
medium  of  a  court,  the  Beth  Din  (“  Court  of  Judgment  ”), 
in  which  he  is  assisted  by  two  or  more  Rabbis,  and  he  bears 
the  title  of  Rosh  Beth  Din  (“  Head  of  the  Court  of  J udgment’  ’) . 
This  Court,  the  modern  counterpart  of  the  ancient  Sanhedrin, 
decides  all  questions  pertaining  to  the  religious  domain.  It 
issues  marriage  certificates  and  bills  of  divorce  ;  it  deals 
with  cases  of  proselytism ;  it  examines  and  licenses 
slaughterers,  who  must  produce  their  knives  for  searching 
inspection,  and  it  also  licenses  butchers  ;  it  takes  systematic 
measures  to  ensure  the  ritual  fitness  of  all  food  offered  for 
Jewish  consumption,  not  only  meat,  but  also  bread,  milk, 
butter,  and  cheese  ;  it  supervises  the  baking  of  unleavened 
bread  for  Passover  ;  and  it  solves  numberless  problems 
relating  to  ritual  observances  and  ceremonies  that  arise  in 
18 


274 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  daily  life  of  the  community.  Its  authority  is  seldom 
disputed,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  few  cases  in  which 
the  authority  of  the  Chief^Rabbi  in  England  has  been  dis¬ 
puted  by  provincial  butchers,  in  regard  to  pronouncements 
on  the  kashrus  or  ritual  fitness  of  meat  offered  for  sale,  it 
has  been  upheld  by  the  civil  court.  The  jurisdiction  of  the 
Beth  Din  usually  comprises  only  questions  of  religious  law, 
but  civil  disputes  are  also  often  voluntarily  submitted  to  its 
decision,  and  cases  in  which  both  parties  are  Jews  are  also 
occasionally  referred  to  it  by  civil  judges. 

The  aspirant  to  the  Rabbinate  must  undergo  a  long 
course  of  training  in  a  theological  seminary  before  he  is 
qualified  to  receive  the  title  of  Rabbi.  The  instruction  in 
the  few  seminaries  ( Yeshiboth )  in  Russia  is  modelled  largely 
on  the  system  observed  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  and  is 
almost  wholly  confined  to  Hebrew  lore  ;  and  after  the  stu¬ 
dent  has  passed  a  searching  examination  in  the  Talmud  and 
the  ritual  codes  by  his  teacher  or  another  Rabbi  he  is  given 
the  diploma  of  Hattarat  Horaah  (“  permission  to  teach  and 
decide  ”),  which  attests  his  ability  to  discharge  Rabbinical 
functions.  The  diploma  confers  no  sacred  power  and  is 
not  a  priestly  licence  :  it  may  be  acquired  by  any  layman 
who  is  sufficiently  learned  in  Rabbinic  lore,  and  its  holder 
derives  the  authority  to  act  as  Rabbi  from  the  congregation 
that  appoints  him.  During  the  nineteenth  century  modern 
Rabbinical  seminaries  were  established  in  Western  Europe 
and  America,1  at  which  stress  is  laid  upon  the  acquisition  of 
an  advanced  secular  education  in  addition  to  the  knowledge 
necessary  for  the  Rabbinical  office,  and  hence  the  modern 
Rabbi  generally  possesses  a  university  degree.  He  is 
further  distinguished  from  his  colleagues  in  Eastern  countries 
and  from  most  of  the  Rabbis  ministering  to  foreign  con¬ 
gregations  in  the  West  by  a  more  practical  conception  of  his 
office.  The  Rabbi  of  the  Eastern  type  delivers  sermons  only 

1  The  most  important  seminaries,  in  the  order  of  their  foundation,  are 
those  of  Breslau  (1854),  London  (1856),  Berlin  (the  moderately  con¬ 
servative  Lehranstalt  fuv  die  Wissenschaft  des  Judentums  in  1872,  and  the 
strictly  orthodox  Rabbiner  Seminar  in  1873),  Cincinnatti  (1874),  Buda¬ 
pest  (1877),  New  York  (1886),  and  Vienna  (1893). 


ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION  275 


occasionally,  which  are  profound  expositions  of  Talmudical 
texts  ;  he  answers  all  questions  relating  to  religious  customs 
and  ritual  practice  ;  but  he  makes  little  or  no  attempt  to 
take  account  of  the  influence  of  modern  conditions  upon 
Judaism.  The  Western  Rabbi  preaches  sermons  regularly 
in  the  vernacular,  in  which  he  deals  with  problems  of  the 
day  and  tries  to  reconcile  Jewish  tradition  with  modern 
thought ;  he  supervises  the  religious  education  of  the  young; 
he  visits  his  congregants  ;  he  visits  the  sick  and  helps 
the  poor ;  and  he  is  regarded  and  accepted  in  the 
outer  world  as  the  representative  of  his  community.  The 
professional  assimilation  of  the  modern  Rabbi  to  the 
Christian  minister  has  in  England  gone  to  the  extent  of  his 
adopting  the  ordinary  clerical  garb  and  the  title  of  “  Rever¬ 
end/’1  But  in  the  purely  ecclesiastical  sphere  he  enjoys 
less  authority  than  his  Eastern  colleague  ;  the  latter  is  the 
undisputed  leader  of  his  community,  the  arbiter  in  all 
questions  of  religious  observance,  whereas  the  modern  Rabbi 
is  often  the  mere  instrument  of  his  congregation,  whose  will 
is  sovereign  in  all  proposed  changes  of  the  ritual  or  liturgy. 

The  centuries  of  dispersion  and  myriadfold  dismember¬ 
ment  of  Jewry  have  naturally  produced  divergences  of 
synagogue  ritual  that  are  quite  unconnected  with  differences 
of  doctrine.  There  are  two  main  systems  which  are  grouped 
around  the  ritual  of  the  Ashkenazim,  or  Jews  of  Germany 
(Heb.,  Ashkenaz),  and  around  that  of  the  Sephardim,  or 
Jews  of  Spain  (Heb.,  Sephard).  The  Ashkenazic  liturgy, 
which  is  by  far  the  most  extensively  used,  has  undergone 
minor  variations  in  Russia  and  Poland  as  well  as  in  England 
and  America  ;  whilst  the  Sephardic  ritual,  which  differs 
in  the  sequence  of  certain  prayers  and  the  text  of  others, 
and  shows  a  preference  for  the  compositions  of  writers  of 
Spanish  origin,  is  exclusively  employed  by  the  descendants 
of  the  exiled  Jews  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  who  migrated 
mostly  to  Turkey  and  the  other  lands  washed  by  the 
Mediterranean,  as  well  as,  in  smaller  groups,  to  England 

1  The  late  Chief  Rabbi  of  England,  Dr.  Herman  Adler,  once  conferred 
the  title  of  “  Reverend  ”  upon  a  schoolmaster,  an  act  which  aroused  con¬ 
siderable  criticism  as  being  utterly  foreign  to  Jewish  tradition. 


276 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  Holland,  and  even  to  various  parts  of  North  and  South 
America.  The  Sephardic  ritual  has  also  undergone  certain 
variations,  the  principal  being  the  Castilian,  the  Aragonian, 
the  Catalonian,  and  the  Provencal,  whilst  further  variations 
are  found  among  the  Jews  of  Arabia  and  Morocco.  The 
Sephardim,  moreover,  who  probabty  do  not  number  more 
than  half  a  million  in  all,  differ  from  the  Ashkenazim  in 
their  pronunciation  of  Hebrew,  and  attach  less  importance 
to  an  elaborately  musical  service.  They  have  their  own 
synagogues  and  their  own  independent  Rabbis,  but  in  all 
the  essentials  of  faith  and  observance  they  acknowledge 
the  same  traditional  authority  as  the  majority  of  Jewry. 


CHAPTER  II 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 

Paucity  of  sectarian  differences — The  rise  of  Reform  Judaism — 
Evolution  of  the  ritual  code — Creed  and  prayer — The  worship  of 
the  Synagogue — The  Chassidim — Orthodoxy  in  Western  Jewry — 
Characteristics  of  Reform  Judaism  and  its  effects — Causes  of  the 
religious  decline 

DESPITE  its  long  history  and  world-wide  dispersion, 
Jewry  presents  a  higher  degree  of  religious  unity 
than  either  of  the  two  great  religions  that  have 
sprung  from  its  loins.  The  comparative  paucity  of  sec¬ 
tarian  differences  is  all  the  more  remarkable  in  view  of 
the  local  religious  autonomy  that  has  been  enjoyed  by 
Jewish  communities  since  the  decay  of  the  Talmudical 
academies  in  Babylon  and  the  extinction  of  the  Princedom 
of  the  Captivity  in  the  year  1040.  The  few  sects  that  have 
arisen  in  the  history  of  Israel  since  the  downfall  of  its 
national  independence  were  banned  as  sowers  of  heresy, 
and  were  doomed  to  stagnation  or  extinction.  The  Kara¬ 
ites  who  arose  in  the  eighth  century  as  rebels  against  the 
authority  of  the  Rabbinic  traditions  and,  inspired  by  an 
ascetic  view  of  life,  founded  a  new  religious  system  on 
the  letter  of  the  Scriptures  alone,  number  to-day  only 
some  12,000  souls,  concentrated  mostly  in  southern 
Russia,  with  a  few  small  communities  in  Turkey  and  Egypt. 
The  Pseudo-Messianic  sects  that  arose  in  the  eighteenth 
century  under  the  influence  of  Sabbatai  Zevi  and  his 
adventurous  imitators,  moved  rather  by  mental  unrest 
than  by  dogmatic  dissent,  left  no  trace  upon  the  surface 
of  Judaism  itself.  The  sect  of  the  Donmeh  (Turkish, 
“  apostates  ”)  in  Salonica,  formed  by  Sabbatai’s  nephew, 
Berechiah  Querido,  is  practically  a  community  of  Moslems ; 

277 


278  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


whilst  the  Frankists  in  Poland,  who  went  over  to  Chris¬ 
tianity,  have  completely  died  out.  The  only  sect  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  has  remained  within  the  fold  of 
Israel  is  that  of  the  Chassidim,  founded  by  Israel  ben 
Eliezer,  of  Miedzyboz,  in  Podolia,  who  was  famed  as  a 
worker  of  miracles  through  the  name  of  God,  and  known 
as  the  Baal  Shem  Tob  (“  Master  of  the  Good  Name  ”).  But 
the  Chassidim  do  not  differ  from  the  rest  of  orthodox 
J  ewry  on  any  point  of  dogma  :  they  differ  simply  in  their 
conception  of  the  religious  life.  They  regard  fervour  of 
faith  as  its  highest  essential  and  as  superior  to  profundity 
of  Talmudical  learning,  and  although  they  have  their  own 
houses  of  prayer  and  their  own  ritual,  they  fully  accept 
and  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Oral  Law. 

It  was  not  until  the  earlier  half  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
when  the  Jews  of  Western  Europe  had  already  begun  to 
enjoy  the  firstfruits  of  civil  emancipation  and  had  come 
under  the  influence  of  modern  culture,  that  the  first  schism 
in  the  domain  of  dogma  took  place.  This  schismatic 
movement,  known  as  Reform  Judaism,  was  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  a  tendency  that  had  already  begun  at  the  close  of 
the  eighteenth  century  in  Germany  for  the  improvement  of 
the  synagogue  service,  and  which  was  mainly  confined  to 
the  excision  of  obsolete  prayers  (such  as  the  prayers  for 
the  heads  of  the  extinct  Babylonian  academies)  and  the  cur¬ 
tailment  of  festival  hymns  written  in  obscure  phraseology. 
It  followed  up  these  external  changes,  that  were  designed 
merely  to  produce  a  decorous  service,  with  a  change  in  the 
doctrines  and  practices  of  Judaism  that  was  designed  to 
harmonize  the  ancient  religion  with  the  modern  outlook 
of  some  of  its  followers.  It  rejected  the  authority  of  the 
Oral  Law,  it  introduced  an  organ  and  a  mixed  choir  into  the 
synagogue,  it  expunged  from  the  prayer  book  all  references 
to  the  coming  of  a  Messiah  and  the  restoration  of  Zion,  and  it 
abolished  the  second  days  of  the  festivals  as  an  anachronism 
dating  from  the  Talmudic  age,  when  the  exact  incidence  of 
the  festivals  could  not  be  fixed  as  in  these  days  of  science. 
The  crucial  principle  that  separated  the  Reformers  from 
orthodox  Jewry  was  their  conception  of  the  destiny  of 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 


279 


Israel.  Ever  since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus, 
the  Jews  had  looked  upon  their  dispersion  as  a  punishment 
for  their  sins  and  fervently  prayed  for  their  restoration  to 
the  Holy  Land.  The  Reformers  declared  that  the  dis¬ 
persion  was  not  a  punishment  but  a  divinely  appointed 
means  for  spreading  the  teachings  of  Judaism  throughout 
the  world,  and  hence  they  ceased  to  pray  for  a  personal 
Messiah  and  for  the  return  of  Israel  to  his  ancestral  land. 
These  revolutionary  doctrines  were  first  proclaimed  in 
Germany  and  found  only  limited  acceptance,  but  upon 
their  being  transplanted  to  the  United  States  they  found 
a  more  friendly  atmosphere  and  developed  to  radical  ex¬ 
tremes,  producing  an  ever-widening  breach  from  the 
traditions  of  Orthodox  Judaism.  But  let  us  first  examine 
the  principles  of  Orthodox  Judaism,  and  we  shall  then  be 
in  a  better  position  to  appreciate  the  significance  of  Reform 
Judaism.  We  must  only  premise  that  neither  of  these 
designations  correctly  denotes  certain  shades  of  conformity 
that  lie  between  strict  Orthodoxy  and  advanced  Reform, 
for  there  is  a  scale  of  degrees  of  observance — or  non- 
observance — that  leads  from  the  one  extreme  to  the  other. 

The  faith  and  practice  of  the  orthodox  Jew  are  based 
upon  a  dual  Law — the  Written  Law,  consisting  of  the  Torah 
or  Bible  ;  and  the  Oral  Law,  consisting  of  the  Talmud.  He 
believes  that  in  addition  to  the  Written  Law  given  on 
Mount  Sinai  an  interpretation  of  its  difficulties  was  simul¬ 
taneously  revealed  to  Moses,  and  that  this  interpreta¬ 
tion,  handed  down  through  an  unbroken  chain  of  authori¬ 
ties,  from  Moses  to  Joshua,  from  Joshua  to  the  Elders, 
from  the  Elders  to  the  Prophets,  and  from  the  Prophets 
to  the  Men  of  the  Great  Synagogue,  was  carefully  trans¬ 
mitted  to  the  Rabbis  who  flourished  after  the  fall  of  the 
Temple  and  who  expounded  it  in  orderly  and  systematic 
form  in  the  six  “  orders  ”  or  sections  of  the  Mishnah.  This 
Mishnah,  which  means  “  Repetition,”  or  that  which  is 
learnt  by  heart,  was  the  result  of  a  compiling  and  editorial 
activity  that  was  carried  on  for  more  than  two  centuries 
and  which  was  completed  about  the  year  200  c.e.  It 
was  a  compendium  of  law  relating  to  all  aspects  of  life 


28o 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


and  all  branches  of  religious  observance,  designed,  in 
the  Rabbinic  phrase,  to  “  form  a  fence  ”  about  the 
Torah,  and  thus  reduce  the  probability  of  transgression. 
But  the  Mishnah,  which  was  based  upon  the  Scripture 
and  which  merely  set  forth  the  traditional  law  with  little 
argumentation,  was  subjected  to  further  discussion  and 
examination  in  the  academies  of  Babylon  and  Palestine  for 
three  centuries,  and  the  resultant  record  of  the  emendation 
and  expansion  of  the  disputations  and  decisions  received 
the  name  of  Gemara  or  “  completion.”  The  Mishnah  and 
the  Gemara ,  text  and  commentary,  together  constitute 
the  Talmud,  which,  in  its  Babylonian  recension,  has  ex¬ 
ercised  its  sway  over  J ewry  throughout  the  centuries  of  the 
dispersion.  The  Talmud  is  primarily  a  detailed  exposition 
of  traditional  law,  accompanied  by  the  argumentative 
preamble  and  casuistic  discussion  that  preceded  each 
decision,  but  it  is  also  a  vast  treasure-house  of  ancient 
lore,  replete  with  parables  and  maxims,  anecdotes  and 
folklore,  allegories  and  exhortations,  that  throw  a  flood  of 
light  upon  the  life,  faith,  and  customs  of  the  Jews  in  the 
early  period  of  their  exile.  The  Talmud  was  thus  too 
monumental  and  labyrinthine  a  work  to  be  convenient  for 
ready  reference  in  the  countless  questions  of  ritual  that 
arise  in  the  daily  life  of  the  observant  Jew,  and  hence  it 
was  reduced  by  Moses  Maimonides,  in  the  twelfth  century, 
to  a  code  of  more  manageable  proportions,  the  Mishneh 
Torah  (“  Copy  of  the  Law  ”),  divided  into  fourteen  books. 
Even  this  work  was  regarded  by  later  generations  as  too 
unwieldy,  so  it  was  reduced  in  turn,  a  century  and  a  half 
later,  b}^  Rabbi  Jacob  ben  Asher,  to  a  new  code  entitled 
Arbaah  Turim  (“Four  Rows”).  But  this  code,  too,  was 
reduced  still  further  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  Rabbi 
Joseph  Caro  into  a  handy  digest,  which  he  entitled 
Shulchan  Aruch  (“The  Prepared  Table”).  This  work, 
systematically  arranged  into  books,  sections,  chapters, 
and  paragraphs,  became  the  standard  code  of  Jewish 
law  and  life ;  but  even  its  publication  did  not  put  an  end 
to  the  exposition  of  traditional  law,  for,  as  it  was  the 
product  of  a  Sephardic  Jew,  annotations  were  added  by 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 


281 


Rabbi  Moses  Isserles  embodying  the  customs  of  Polish 
and  German  communities,  and  it  received  further  accre¬ 
tions  in  the  form  of  notes  and  commentaries  dealing  with 
questions  that  had  arisen  through  changed  conditions  of  life. 
The  Shulchan  Aruch  thus  forms  the  final  repository  of  law, 
and  only  they  who  scrupulously  conform  to  its  regulations 
are  regarded  as  orthodox  Jews  in  the  strictest  sense.  It 
expounds  the  duties  of  the  Jew  to  man  and  his  Maker  ;  it 
governs  his  acts  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  private  and  public, 
domestic  and  social,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave  ;  it  enacts 
in  minute  detail  how  he  shall  dress  and  how  he  should  walk, 
what  he  should  eat  and  what  he  should  drink  ;  how  he  should 
kill  the  animals  fit  for  his  consumption,  and  prepare  their 
flesh  for  food  ;  how  he  should  pray  and  how  he  should  study, 
how  he  should  keep  the  Sabbath  and  celebrate  the  feasts  and 
fasts,  how  he  should  bake  the  unleavened  bread  for  Pass- 
over  and  build  the  booths  for  Tabernacles  ;  what  his  duties 
are  to  his  wife  and  his  children,  to  his  parents  and  his 
teachers,  to  his  neighbours  and  the  community,  to  the  or¬ 
phans,  the  sick,  and  the  poor,  to  the  living  and  to  the  dead. 

So  elaborate  and  all-embracing  is  this  compendium 
of  ritual  law,  covering  every  conceivable  act  in  human  life, 
that  it  might  seem  to  leave  no  room  for  spiritual  religion, 
and  yet  the  articles  of  faith  formulated  by  Maimonides  and 
the  pages  of  the  prayer  book  bear  abundant  evidence  to 
the  sublimity  of  faith  of  the  orthodox  Jew.  He  believes 
in  the  unity,  the  eternity,  and  the  incorporeality  of  the 
Creator,  who  is  the  cause  of  all  things  and  is  alone  to  be 
worshipped.  He  believes  in  the  words  of  the  prophets, 
of  whom  Moses  is  the  greatest,  and  in  the  divine  origin  of 
the  Torah,  which  is  unchangeable.  He  believes  that  God 
knows  the  deeds  and  thoughts  of  man,  and  rewards  those 
who  observe  His  commandments  and  punishes  those  who 
transgress  them  ;  and  he  believes  in  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah  and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  But  he 
attaches  less  importance  to  creeds  than  to  deeds.  He 
lives  and  acts  not  according  to  a  catechism  of  faith  but 
according  to  a  code  of  laws  and  customs,  which  enshrine 
for  him  a  religious  truth,  an  ethical  ideal,  or  an  historic 


282 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


experience.  He  shuns  all  food  and  drink  forbidden  by  the 
dietary  laws,  avoids  all  restaurants  but  those  that  are  kosher, 
and  is  shocked  on  seeing  a  fellow- Jew  eat  a  piece  of  for¬ 
bidden  meat.  He  has  special  benedictions  for  all  occa¬ 
sions  :  when  it  thunders  or  lightens,  when  he  sees  a  rainbow 
or  the  new  moon,  when  he  undertakes  a  sea  voyage  or  has 
escaped  a  serious  danger,  when  he  beholds  a  distinguished 
sage  or  is  in  the  presence  of  a  monarch,  when  he  hears 
good  tidings  or  is  informed  of  a  death.  He  offers  up  three 
principal  prayers  a  day  in  Hebrew — not  brief  prayers,  but 
a  complete  service  of  prayers  and  psalms,  which  occupies 
at  least  half  an  hour  in  the  morning  and  half  as  long  in  the 
afternoon  and  the  evening.  He  extols  the  greatness  of 
God,  thanks  Him  for  His  manifold  mercies,  entreats  His 
guidance  and  protection  throughout  life,  prays  that  all 
nations  shall  bow  down  to  Him,  and  that  the  scattered 
children  of  Israel  may  be  gathered  together  from  the  four 
corners  of  the  earth  and  be  reunited  in  Zion.  At  his 
morning  devotions  he  wears  a  tallis,  or  praying-shawl,  with 
fringes  at  the  four  corners,  and  on  all  days  but  Sabbaths 
and  festivals  he  also  dons  his  tephillin  (phylacteries)  ; 
even  on  his  travels  he  takes  these  accessories  with  him,  and 
whether  on  an  Atlantic  liner  or  in  a  continental  express  he 
never  fails  to  don  his  tephillin  in  the  morning,  contenting 
himself  for  the  nonce  with  the  small  fringed  garment  on 
his  body  instead  of  the  more  ample  and  attractive  tallis, 
and  steeled  by  his  faith  against  the  amused  gaze  of  the 
Gentile  or  of  his  own  lax  brethren.  The  rationalist  may 
shake  his  head  at  this  periodic  and  punctual  outpouring 
of  prayer,  but  he  must  indeed  be  numb  to  all  sense  of  the 
sublime  who  is  not  impressed  by  the  sight  of  a  poor  pedlar, 
who,  after  trudging  the  whole  day  long  with  a  heavy  pack 
in  search  of  a  pittance,  suddenly  sees  that  the  sun  will  set 
before  he  can  reach  home,  and  so  hastens  to  some  deserted 
lane  or  field,  where  he  places  his  burden  on  the  ground, 
turns  his  face  towards  the  east,  and  devoutly  begins  the 
afternoon  prayer  : 

“  Happy  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house  ;  they  will  be  ever  praising 
Thee.  Selah”  (Ps.  lxxxiv.  4). 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE  283 

The  orthodox  Jew  is  a  devotee  of  the  synagogue.  If 
he  cannot  attend  every  morning,  by  reason  of  his  work 
or  business,  he  makes  an  effort  to  be  present  at  least  on 
Mondays  and  Thursdays,  when  a  portion  of  the  Law  is 
read,  and  likewise  every  evening,  when  the  service  is 
followed  by  the  study  of  the  Talmud  under  the  lead  of 
the  Rabbi.  His  synagogue  may  be  simple  and  even 
sombre  in  architecture,  the  light  being  obscured  by  tall 
buildings  around  it,  but  he  is  attracted  to  it  as  naturally 
as  the  earth  to  the  sun.  Nothing  but  illness  can  excuse 
his  absence  on  the  Sabbath,  while  he  attends  with  his 
sons  on  Friday  evening  and  also  with  his  wife  and  daughters 
on  Saturday  morning,  though  the  latter  must  sit  in  a 
gallery,  where  they  are  often  concealed  from  the  male 
worshippers  below  by  a  closely-patterned  grille  or  a 
curtain.  He  drinks  in  with  delight  the  florid  melodies  of 
the  Chazan,  and  is  even  prepared  to  conduct  the  service 
himself  in  the  cantor’s  absence,  whilst  he  accounts  it  a 
special  merit  to  be  called  up  to  the  reading  of  the  Law 
and  a  higher  merit  still  to  be  summoned  to  cantillate  the 
portion  from  the  Prophets.  His  praying  is  marked  by 
fervour  and  exuberance  :  he  sways  his  body  in  literal 
interpretation  of  the  Psalmist’s  words,  “  All  my  bones 
shall  say,  Lord,  who  is  like  unto  Thee  !  ”  1  His  responses 
are  emphatic  and  resonant,  and  he  sings  the  Sabbath 
hymns  with  glee.  On  the  Fast  of  Ab  he  mourns  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  with  saddened  spirit,  sitting 
bootless  on  a  low  stool,  listening  to  the  reading  of  the 
Lamentations  by  the  reader,  and  then  intoning  himself 
in  turn  one  of  the  cycle  of  dirges  on  Zion  ;  and  on  the 
Feast  of  Purim  he  celebrates  the  discomfiture  of  Haman 
and  his  plots  by  punctuating  the  recitation  of  the  Book 
of  Esther  with  the  whirl  of  a  rattle  or  the  stamp  of  feet 
whenever  the  name  of  that  archfiend  is  mentioned.  The 
Day  of  Atonement  sees  him  wrapped  in  a  white  robe 
(symbolical  of  his  cerements),  pouring  forth  a  flood  of  prayer 
that  God  may  forgive  him  for  sins  committed  and  uncom¬ 
mitted,  beating  his  breast  at  the  name  of  every  fresh 

1  Ps.  XXXV.  10. 


284  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


iniquity,  and  bedewing  the  prayer  book  with  tears ; 
but  on  the  festival  of  Tabernacles  he  takes  citron  and 
palm-branch  and  shakes  them  to  the  melodious  ac¬ 
companiment  of  psalms,  while  on  the  feast  of  the 
Rejoicing  of  the  Law  he  proudly  bears  a  scroll  on  one  of 
the  seven  circuits  round  the  Almemar  (“  the  cantor’s  plat¬ 
form”),  followed  by  his  juvenile  sons  carrying  paper  flags 
adorned  with  the  figures  of  Moses  and  Aaron  or  a  design  of 
the  Ten  Commandments,  and  singing  the  hosannas  right 
merrily,  after  which  he  and  all  his  fellow-worshippers  indulge 
in  feasting  and  drinking,  and  pass  from  spiritual  elation 
to  spirituous  exaltation.  For  religion  to  him  is  life,  and 
like  life  it  finds  expression  in  a  sequence  of  changing 
emotions.  Moreover,  he  takes  every  precaution  that  his 
children  shall  follow  in  his  footsteps  :  he  sends  them  to  a 
Cheder  or  Talmud  Torah,  which  they  attend  daily,  and 
where  they  are  taught  the  translation  of  the  prayer  book  and 
of  the  Bible  and  its  commentaries,  where  they  are  trained 
to  cantillate  the  Pentateuch  and  the  lessons  from  the  Pro¬ 
phets,  and  are  initiated  into  the  laws  of  the  Shulchan  Aruch. 
He  feels  then  assured  that  when  he  passes  away  his  sons  will 
honour  his  memory  by  reciting  in  the  synagogue  for  eleven 
months  after  his  death  the  prayer  known  as  the  Kaddish. 

Such  is  the  religious  observance  of  the  strictly  orthodox 
Jew  in  Eastern  Europe,  as  well  as  in  many  congregations 
of  the  West  that  are  made  up  of  natives  of  the  East.  The 
element  of  emotion  plays  an  even  greater  part  among 
the  Chassidim  in  Russia,  Galicia,  and  Hungary,  for  they 
believe  that  by  violent  excitation  of  the  body  they  can 
enter  into  direct  communion  with  God  and  influence 
Him,  and  hence  in  their  prayer-houses  they  work  them¬ 
selves  up  into  an  ecstasy  by  shouting,  singing,  and  vigorous 
gesticulation.  They  revere  their  leader,  whom  they  call  a 
Zaddik  (“  saint  ”), as  one  wTho  has  attained  the  most  intimate 
communion  with  God  and  can  mediate  on  their  behalf. 
They  believe  that  he  can  heal  them  of  bodily  ills,  that 
he  can  cure  the  sterility  of  their  wives,  and  predict  the 
issue  of  their  private  undertakings,  and  hence  they  seek  his 
advice  on  all  important  occasions,  though  they  must  pay  for 


THE  FEAST  OF  TABERNACLES 

FKOM  THE  PAINTING  BY  l.EOPOLD  Bl LICH(  <\VSK  I 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 


285 


it  with  a  fee  (pidyori),  which  forms  for  him  a  fruitful  source 
of  revenue.  They  attach  a  mystic  power  to  all  his  sayings 
and  doings,  and  even  fight  for  a  crumb  that  falls  from 
his  hand  when  they  have  the  honour  of  being  present  at 
his  Sabbath  table.  The  dignity  of  the  Zaddik  has  been 
made  hereditary,  and  is  borne  by  three  different  dynasties 
in  Poland  and  Galicia,  each  of  which  has  thousands 
of  adherents  ;  but  the  glory  of  Chassidism  is  bound  to 
depart  with  the  continuous  emigration  of  the  faithful. 

The  orthodoxy  of  the  Western  Jews  differs  in  many 
respects  from  that  of  their  Eastern  brethren.  Theoreti¬ 
cally  they  also  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Oral 
Law,  but  in  practice  they  mostly  ignore  it.  They  do 
not  receive,  nor  do  they  let  their  children  receive,  a 
thorough  grounding  in  Hebrew  and  the  tenets  of  Judaism, 
which  requires  several  hours  a  week,  nor  even  instruction  in 
Jewish  history,  owing  to  the  more  insistent  claims  of  secular 
education,  and  as  they  are  unfamiliar  with  the  language 
of  the  synagogue  they  are  not  attracted  to  public  worship. 
Their  synagogues  are  more  handsome  and  imposing  than 
any  that  can  be  found  among  the  congregations  of  Eastern 
pietists,  and  various  concessions  have  been  made  to  the 
spirit  of  modernity.  The  cantor  is  assisted  by  a  choir 
of  male  and  female  voices  ;  in  some  orthodox  shrines 
there  is  even  an  organ,  which  is  forbidden  by  the  Shulchan 
Aruch  ;  the  university-educated  Rabbi  delivers  a  polished 
sermon  every  Sabbath  morning  ;  and  there  are  occasional 
prayers  in  the  vernacular.  But  despite  these  attractions 
half  of  the  congregation  do  not  come  to  the  Sabbath 
service,  for  they  are  in  their  shops  and  offices,  their  ware¬ 
houses  and  factories.  Living  in  an  economic  world  which 
does  not  hallow  the  seventh  but  the  first  day,  they  pursue 
their  usual  work  on  the  day  sacred  to  their  fathers. 
Competition  grows  keener,  the  fight  for  existence  more 
bitter  ;  and  as  their  faith  has  sunk  to  a  low  ebb  they  are 
unwilling  or  unable  to  make  any  sacrifice.  Even  those 
who  need  not  work  on  the  Sabbath,  such  as  the  rich,  or 
teachers  in  Jewish  schools,  or  authors  and  artists,  are 
likewise  mostly  absent  from  the  house  of  worship,  for, 


286 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


having  received  a  modern  education,  they  are  impregnated 
with  the  scepticism  and  indifference  of  the  age,  whilst 
those  who  do  attend  display  little  fervour,  and  although 
they  pray  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  and  the  return  to 
Zion,  they  do  not  believe  in  these  hopes,  or  cannot  under¬ 
stand  the  prayers  they  utter.  And  that  those  who  shun 
the  synagogue  do  not  engage  in  private  prayer  nor  observe 
the  exacting  prescriptions  of  the  dietary  laws,  goes  without 
saying.  Some  are  still  attracted  by  the  historic  appeal 
of  the  festival  of  freedom,  the  Passover,  though  its  ritual 
observance  is  often  difficult  for  those  isolated  in  a  Gentile 
environment ;  but  it  is  only  the  New  Year  and  the  Day 
of  Atonement,  the  first  and  last  of  the  Ten  Days  of 
Penitence,  that  can  throw  a  spell  over  those  who  are  lax 
the  whole  year  round.  Then  even  all  the  synagogues 
crowded  to  their  utmost  cannot  receive  the  hosts  of 
penitents,  and  halls  and  schoolrooms  galore  must  be 
requisitioned  for  the  countless  temporary  congregations 
that  rise  into  being.  But  even  the  dread  solemnity  of 
the  Fast  of  Atonement  has  lost  its  thrill  for  a  great 
and  growing  number  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  are 
being  slowly  absorbed  by  their  environment.  This  decay 
of  religious  feeling  has  reached  the  farthest  extreme  in 
countries  in  which  Jews  enjoy  to  the  full  the  blessings  of 
liberty  and  education,  and  where  there  is  a  relatively 
small  admixture  of  the  immigrant  element,  such  as  Italy1 
and  France  ;  but  religious  indifference  is  spreading  like 
an  epidemic  over  Central  Europe,  England,  and  America. 

This  indifference  is  just  as  rampant  among  the  adherents 
of  Reform  Judaism,  despite  all  the  measures  that  have 
been  taken  for  making  it  easy  to  observe.  The  authority 

1  In  an  interesting  article  on  the  Jews  in  Italy  ( Ost  und  West,  September 
1912),  Professor  Loevinson,  of  Rome,  enumerates  a  number  of  communities 
where  religious  indifference  is  so  widespread  that  more  than  half  are  absent 
from  the  services  on  the  New  Year  and  the  Day  of  Atonement.  In 
Bologna,  of  1600  Jews  only  200  attend  the  synagogue  on  these  solemn 
festivals.  An  inquiry  conducted  among  1850  Jewish  communities  in 
Germany  in  1904  showed  that  the  daily  synagogue  service  was  held  only 
in  487  communities,  whilst  1147  communities  held  divine  service  only  on 
the  Sabbath  and  216  only  on  the  high  festivals  ( Zeitschrift  /.  Demog,  u. 
Stat.  der  Juden,  1905,  No.  9,  p.  3). 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 


287 


of  the  Talmud  and  the  Shulchan  Aruch  has  been  abrogated, 
the  infallibility  of  the  Torah  has  been  overthrown,  and 
the  laws  of  Moses  are  read  in  the  light  of  the  Higher 
Criticism  and  subordinated  to  the  ethical  teaching  of  the 
Prophets.  The  Reform  synagogue,  especially  as  it  has 
developed  in  the  United  States,  knows  no  authority  except 
itself,  but  it  has  not  won  the  allegiance  of  the  masses  who 
find  the  Shulchan  Aruch  a  yoke.  It  attaches  more  import¬ 
ance  to  creeds  than  to  deeds,  but  it  has  revised  the  old 
creeds,  and  formulated  new  ones,  without  being  able  to 
record  any  revival  of  spirituality  as  a  result.  It  proclaims 
that  Israel  is  not  in  exile  and  undergoing  punishment  for 
past  transgression,  but  that  he  has  been  dispersed  to  dis¬ 
charge  a  mission,  to  spread  the  principles  of  truth  and 
justice  and  be  a  model  of  righteousness  unto  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  :  a  doctrine  that  stands  in  ironic  contrast  to 
the  situation  in  Russia,  where  the  Jews  have  been  settled 
nearly  two  thousand  years  and  shown  greater  fidelity  than 
all  their  brethren  to  the  teachings  of  their  faith,  but  have 
not  made  the  least  impression  upon  the  moral  perversity 
of  their  inhuman  rulers.  The  Reform  movement  has 
abolished  the  second  days  of  festivals  and  disregards  the 
dietary  laws.  It  has  emasculated  Judaism  of  its  national 
character  and  composed  a  new  liturgy,  which  is  free  from 
references  to  a  personal  Messiah,  the  return  to  Zion,  and 
the  restoration  of  sacrifices.  It  has  made  the  vernacular 
supersede  Hebrew  as  the  principal  language  of  prayer  ; 
it  has  introduced  an  organ  and  mixed  choir  as  regular 
accompaniments  of  public  worship  ;  it  has  abolished  the 
tallis  and  tephillin  for  ordinary  morning  prayer  and  the 
kittel  (white  robe)  on  the  Day  of  Atonement ;  it  allows 
divine  worship  to  be  conducted  with  uncovered  head,  and 
in  certain  “  temples”  it  has  abandoned  the  women’s  gallery 
in  favour  of  family  pews.  So  occidentalized  has  the  Re¬ 
form  temple  become  that  a  visitor  at  first  sight  can  hardly 
distinguish  whether  he  is  in  a  synagogue  or  a  chapel, 
and  yet  with  all  its  concessions  to  the  modern  spirit  it 
fails  to  attract  an  adequate  congregation  on  the  Sabbath 
morning.  Hence  many  temples  have  introduced  supple- 


288 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


mentary  services  on  the  Sunday  morning,  at  which  a  lecture 
is  given,  whilst  the  Sinai  congregation  in  Chicago  and  the 
Reform  congregation  in  Berlin  hold  services  only  on  Sunday. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  so-called  Reform  synagogues  in 
England  hardly  differ  in  many  respects  from  certain  Con¬ 
servative  houses  of  prayer  on  the  Continent,  the  Liberal 
Synagogue  founded  by  Mr.  Claude  Montefiore  alone  ap¬ 
proximating  in  form  and  spirit  to  the  temples  of  America. 

That  the  Reform  movement  has  failed  to  arrest  the 
decay  of  religion  in  Jewry  is  a  fact  that  will  readily  be 
admitted  even  by  its  leaders.  It  may  be  urged  that  it  has 
simply  given  its  sanction  to  what  is  actually  the  faith  and 
observance  of  myriads  of  Jews  in  the  orthodox  camp,  but 
in  legalizing  a  series  of  departures  from  the  traditional 
law  it  has  given  an  impetus  to  further  deflections,  for  in 
no  congregation  does  the  average  member  aspire  to  the 
ideal  of  a  maximum  of  conformity.  Orthodoxy,  despite 
the  difficulty  of  observing  its  countless  array  of  laws  and 
precepts,  will  continue  to  exercise  a  hold  over  the  imagina¬ 
tion  of  the  Jew  through  its  rich  ceremonialism  and  symbolic 
ritual ;  whereas  Reform,  by  abolishing  many  historic 
customs  and  minimizing  the  importance  of  others,  by 
cutting  Judaism  adrift  for  ever  from  the  land  of  its  birth 
and  denuding  it  of  its  national  features,  weakens  the  bond 
of  racial  consciousness,  effaces  the  line  of  separation  from 
other  faiths,  and  facilitates  the  drift  of  its  members  from 
the  Jewish  pale  either  to  the  Christian  Church  or  to  the 
less  exacting  cults  of  Theism,  Monism,  or  Ethical  Culture, 
or,  finally,  to  the  easy-going  world  of  free-thought. 

Thus,  religious  observance  is  now  on  the  decline 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  Jewry.  The  decadence  of 
religious  feeling  that  characterizes  the  world  in  general  has 
infected  the  communities  of  Israel  that  are  everywhere 
a  minority  in  the  lands  of  their  dispersion.  Intellectual, 
social,  and  economic  causes  have  all  combined  to  shatter 
the  age-old  faith  of  the  Jew  and  to  sweep  away  the  rites 
and  customs  that  had  been  cherished  so  dearly  through 
centuries  of  martyrdom.  Now  that  the  Jew  could  observe 
his  religion  in  peace,  it  has  ceased  to  appeal  to  hiim  The 


FAITH  AND  OBSERVANCE 


289 


acquisition  of  higher  education,  the  results  of  the  Higher 
Criticism,  the  teaching  of  science,  the  increasing  inter¬ 
course  with  the  Christian  population,  and  the  exacting 
demands  of  the  economic  struggle,  all  conspire  to  weaken 
his  attachment  to  the  traditions  of  his  fathers.  Not 
deliberately,  not  wilfully  does  he  depart  from  the  standard 
of  piety  in  the  Ghetto,  but  driven  inexorably  and  inevitably, 
often  against  his  will,  and  sometimes  with  a  secret  pang. 
Even  those  endowed  with  a  thorough  religious  education, 
with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  language  and 
of  Jewish  history,  have  become  estranged  from  the  syna¬ 
gogue  :  how  much  more,  then,  those  who  have  not  enjoyed 
such  advantages  ?  The  Western  communities  have  not  yet 
solved  the  task  of  providing  adequate  religious  instruction 
for  the  rapidly  growing  population.  In  London  alone 
there  are  estimated  to  be  13,000  Jewish  children  without 
any  religious  education,  and  in  New  York  the  number 
exceeds  150, ooo.1  This  is  partly  the  fault  of  the  communal 
authorities,  but  it  is  in  no  small  measure  the  result  of  the 
attitude  of  the  parents  themselves.  Nothing  but  parental 
indifference  can  explain  the  fact  that  g  per  cent  of  the 
J  ewish  pupils  in  the  high  schools  of  Germany  are  receiving 
instruction  in  Christianity,  that  14  to  15  per  cent  of  the 
Jewish  pupils  in  Berlin  are  attending  lessons  in  the  Pro¬ 
testant  faith,  and  that  in  certain  high  schools  in  that  city 
even  a  third  of  the  Jews  are  being  initiated  into  this  faith.2 
This  picture  of  the  early  estrangement  of  Jews  from  their 
faith  can  be  paralleled  in  many  other  large  centres  in 
Europe  and  America.  The  Jewish  child  thus  becomes 
more  familiar  with  Christmas  than  with  Chanucah,  the 
festival  of  the  Maccabees  that  often  synchronizes  with  it, 
and  parents  frequently  go  the  length  of  introducing  the 
Christmas  tree  into  the  home,  with  all  the  conventional 
customs  attaching  to  it.  The  Christmas  tree  is  defended  by 
those  who  adopt  it  as  being  free  from  any  positive  religious 

1  “  Jewish  Educational  Disorganization  in  London/'  by  N.  Bentwich, 
in  the  Jewish  Review,  November  1912. 

2  Dr.  Felix  Theilhaber,  Der  Untergang  der  deutschen  Juden  (Berlin, 
1911),  p.  96. 

19 


290 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


import,  but  it  undeniably  signifies  a  negative  attitude  to 
Jewish  tradition  :  it  is  a  symbol  of  estrangement  from  the 
ancient  faith.  Thus,  slowly  and  subtly,  the  bonds  of 
Judaism  are  being  dissolved  throughout  the  Western 
lands,  a  process  that  is  but  feebly  checked  by  the 
influx  of  pious  immigrants  from  the  East ;  for  these  too, 
intoxicated  by  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  absorbed  in  the 
battle  of  life,  are  likewise  seduced  from  the  path  of  their 
forefathers,  whilst  their  children,  especially  in  England 
and  America,  are  even  more  rapidly  assimilated  to  the 
predominant  national  type. 


CHAPTER  III 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 

The  principal  causes  of  desertion — Early  apostasy  in  England, 
Prussia,  and  Russia — Missionary  agencies — Statistics  of  baptisms — 
Fluctuations  in  the  history  of  conversion — Recent  defections  in 
Austria,  in  Hungary,  and  in  Germany — Record  apostasy  in  Russia 
— The  growth  of  intermarriage — Its  prevalence  in  Austria,  Hun¬ 
gary,  and  Holland — Intermarriages  in  Germany  and  Denmark  ;  in 
England,  America,  and  Australia — The  children  of  mixed  marriages 

THE  drift  from  Judaism  that  is  now  going  on 
throughout  the  world  is  one  of  the  most  disquiet¬ 
ing  features  of  Jewish  life.  A  certain  amount  of 
desertion  has  from  the  very  beginning  always  attended  the 
dispersion,  but  until  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  it 
was  comparatively  small  in  extent  and  limited  in  locality. 
It  was  the  toll  that  had  to  be  paid  by  Jewry  to  Christendom 
for  existing  in  its  midst,  and  it  was  exacted  by  State  and 
Church  alike.  The  principle  of  the  mediaeval  State  was 
that  all  its  subjects  should  worship  in  the  State  Church, 
and  the  method  of  forcible  persuasion  that  was  adopted 
towards  all  dissenters  was  applied  with  the  severest  rigour 
towards  the  Jews,  who  were  forced  to  listen  to  Christian 
sermons  and  to  public  disputations  on  the  Torah  and  the 
Talmud.  The  Crusades  and  the  Inquisition  were  the  two 
most  successful — because  most  violent — instruments  of 
conversion,  though  the  formal  acceptance  of  Christianity 
did  not  prevent  the  Jews  in  Spain,  and  even  in  other 
countries,  from  adhering  to  their  religion  and  observing 
its  rites  in  secret.  The  hypocrisy  thus  engendered  by  the 
mediaeval  State  was  the  chief  weapon  for  defeating  the 
intolerance  which  it  practised.  But  so  stubbornly  did 
the  Jewish  people  cling  to  their  faith  that  all  the  devices 
of  persecution — social  degradation,  economic  boycott, 

291 


292 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


ruinous  fines,  imprisonment,  torture,  exile — failed  to 
“  save  ”  aught  but  a  relatively  small  number  of  souls. 
In  modern  times,  however,  the  desertion  of  Judaism  has 
been  mostly  voluntary  in  character  and  far  more  extensive 
in  its  incidence.  Not  that  the  Jews  recognize  any  religious 
superiority  on  the  part  of  Christianity.  Their  desertion 
partakes  of  two  forms  :  either  they  leave  the  Synagogue 
because  they  have  little  sympathy  with  it,  without  joining 
the  Church,  for  which  they  have  even  less  sympathy  ;  or 
they  join  the  Church  because  it  relieves  them  of  social  and 
political  disabilities.  Those  who  surrender  the  faith  of 
their  forefathers  without  adopting  any  other  in  its  place 
are  mostly  to  be  found  in  the  lands  of  freedom,  in  Western 
Europe  and  America,  though  cases  of  Jewish  baptism  in 
these  regions  are  also  very  plentiful ;  but  in  the  lands  of 
bondage  or  semi-bondage,  in  Central  and  Eastern  Europe, 
the  normal  feature  of  religious  desertion  is  secession  to 
Christianity.  In  the  countries  where  complete  political 
equality  prevails,  without  any  religious  discrimination, 
such  as  England,  France,  and  America,  there  is  no  ex¬ 
traneous  motive  to  join  the  Church,  and  the  majority  of 
the  Jews  who  drift  through  its  doors  enter  it  to  contract 
a  wealthy  marriage.  But  in  Germany  and  Austria,  where 
the  profession  of  Judaism  is  still  a  disqualification  for 
public  office,  as  well  as  in  Russia  and  Rumania,  where 
the  Jews  are  degraded  to  the  level  of  second-class  citizens 
or  pariahs,  those  who  secede  to  the  Church  do  so  to  ensure 
their  worldly  advancement.  Instances  of  conversion  for 
conscience’  sake  may  perhaps  occur,  for  even  Jewry  has 
its  mystics  ;  but  they  are  difficult  to  prove,  as  the  accept¬ 
ance  of  baptism  is  invariably  accompanied  by  a  material 
advantage.  Hence  the  motives  that  actuate  the  great 
bulk  of  apostates — the  deliverance  from  civil  disabilities 
or  the  furtherance  of  their  career — are  substantially  the 
same  to-day  as  those  that  prevailed  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  main  difference  is  that  formerly  they  were  impressed 
upon  the  Jew  by  means  of  the  sword  or  the  stake  ;  now 
they  operate  automatically.  Another  difference  is  that 
formerly  the  only  acceptable  conversion  in  all  countries 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


293 


was  that  which  bore  the  Jew  into  the  established  Church. 
This  principle  still  prevails  in  Russia,  where  only  those 
who  espouse  the  orthodox  Greek  faith  are  looked  upon 
with  favour  ;  but  in  Germany  and  Austria  the  Govern¬ 
ment  does  not  trouble  itself  whether  the  Jewish  renegade 
seeks  covert  under  the  Protestant  or  the  Catholic  wing  of 
the  Church,  so  long  as  he  acknowledges  Christianity,  which 
in  political  practice  is  ignored  by  Christendom  itself. 

The  first  notable  tendency  toward  apostasy  in  modern 
times  manifested  itself  under  the  immediate  influence 
of  the  social  and  intellectual  emancipation  which  the 
Jews  of  Western  Europe  began  to  enjoy  towards  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  acquisition  of  secular 
learning  and  increasing  intercourse  with  their  Christian 
neighbours  made  a  number  of  Jews  of  the  wealthier  class 
lose  sympathy  with  the  Synagogue,  whose  forms  and  cere¬ 
monies  they  began  to  regard  with  a  critical  eye.  Behind 
the  walls  of  the  Ghetto  they  had  observed  all  the  rites  of 
their  faith  with  undisturbed  tranquillity  of  soul,  and 
were  even  strengthened  in  their  devotion  by  the  hostility 
of  the  outside  world.  But  the  freedom  that  gradually 
dawned  upon  them  lured  them  away  from  the  communal 
fold  and  enkindled  in  them  the  ambition  to  shine  in  the 
larger  world  around  them.  The  sun  of  liberty  dissolved 
the  ties  of  faith  much  more  readily  than  the  fires  of  the 
Inquisition.  The  first  general  defection  took  place  in 
England,  where,  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  number  of  prominent  Jewish  families  of  the 
Sephardic  community,  actuated  more  by  social  ambition 
than  by  theological  scruples,  transferred  their  allegiance 
to  the  Church.  They  included  such  names  as  Bernal, 
Furtado,  Lopez,  Ximenes,  and  Uzzielli,  to  which,  a  little 
later,  those  of  Ricardo  and  Disraeli  were  added — all 
families  that  were  soon  merged  into  the  British  aristocracy. 
But  a  far  more  serious  outbreak  of  apostasy  was  that 
which  occurred  in  Prussia.  Here  the  movement  was 
all  the  more  striking  as  it  developed  under  the  immediate 
influence  of  the  teaching  of  Moses  Mendelssohn,  who  had 
sought  to  confer  upon  his  fellow- Jews  the  blessings  of 


294 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


secular  culture  while  preaching  to  them  steadfastness  of 
faith.  His  generation  accepted  the  blessings  of  culture, 
but  their  faith  was  shattered,  and  his  own  children  were 
among  the  first  who  headed  the  march  to  the  baptismal 
font.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  ritual  of  the  Synagogue 
and  with  the  multifold  ceremonies  in  the  home  was  only  a 
subsidiary  motive  in  their  desertion  :  the  prime  motive 
was  worldly  ambition.  Hence  it  is  that  the  epidemic 
of  apostasy  attacked  only  the  wealthier  and  more  in¬ 
tellectual  Jews,  those  who  had  something  to  gain  by 
joining  the  Church,  a  Government  appointment  or  access 
to  aristocratic  circles.  Thirty  years  after  the  death  of 
Moses  Mendelssohn,  Rahel  Levin  wrote  to  her  brother  that 
half  of  the  Berlin  community  was  baptized.  This  state¬ 
ment  was  numerically  inaccurate,  as  of  the  3610  Jews 
who  lived  in  Berlin  in  1819  only  1236  became  Christians 
within  the  next  four  years,  but  the  proportion  was  grave 
enough  to  justify  the  slight  exaggeration.  From  1822 
to  1840  there  was  an  average  of  122  Jewish  converts  a 
year,  and  they  included  nearly  every  Jew  who  attained 
any  fame  in  Prussia  in  that  period.  Scholars  who  wished 
to  advance  in  their  career  without  sacrificing  their  con¬ 
science  found  themselves  forced  into  exile,  and  thus  Munk, 
Dernburg,  and  Oppert  migrated  to  France,  and  Zedner, 
Neubauer,  and  Deutsch  to  England.  The  secessions  in 
Prussia  were  encouraged  by  the  State  and  welcomed  by 
the  King.  Not  only  were  the  Jews  excluded  from  all 
public  positions,  denied  all  civil  and  political  rights, 
and  subjected  to  special  humiliations,  but  even  when  they 
attempted  to  reform  the  Synagogue  service  in  the  hope 
of  stemming  the  tide  of  apostasy,  they  were  hindered 
by  the  Government,  which  forbade  the  use  in  the  synagogue 
of  the  German  language  and  the  wearing  of  the  talar 
(“  minister’s  gown  ”).  The  joy  in  the  royal  household  at 
the  desertions  from  Judaism  was  shown  by  the  fact  that 
Frederick  William  III  rewarded  every  apostate  with  a  bonus 
of  ten  ducats,  whilst  Frederick  William  IV  presented  a  gift 
to  every  converted  J ewess  on  her  marriage.  The  premium 
thus  directly  placed  upon  apostasy  is  continued  in  another 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


295 


form  by  the  German  Government  to  the  present  day,  for 
no  Jew  can  aspire  to  a  position  in  the  civil  service,  or  to  an 
ordinary  professorship  in  a  university,  or  even  to  a  com¬ 
mission  in  the  army  :  only  the  waters  of  baptism  can 
wash  his  blemish  away.  Many  Jews  have  adopted 
Christianity  under  the  impression  that  only  thus  could 
they  become  perfect  Germans,  in  accordance  with  the 
irrational  doctrine  propounded  by  the  historians  Mommsen, 
Treitschke,  and  Paulsen.  In  Russia,  throughout  the 
nineteenth  century,  as  at  present,  the  forces  working  in 
favour  of  apostasy  were  much  more  powerful  than  in  any 
other  country,  as  the  disabilities  and  humiliations,  apart 
from  physical  persecution,  to  which  they  were  subjected, 
were  far  more  numerous  and  oppressive.  Upon  his 
accession  Nicholas  I  (1825-55)  ordered  all  Jews  who 
were  in  the  Government  service  to  become  baptized  or  to 
leave  their  positions ;  and  as  his  zealous  endeavours 
to  win  over  adult  Jews  to  Christianity  met  with  little 
success  he  had  boys  from  eight  years  of  age  torn  from 
their  homes  at  midnight  by  the  police  and  drafted  into 
the  “  cantonist  ”  schools,  where  they  were  prepared 
for  military  service  and  forced  or  wheedled  into  Christianity 
as  part  of  their  training.  In  Russia  to-day,  as  in  Prussia 
a  century  ago,  every  baptized  Jew  or  Jewess  receives  a 
premium  of  thirty  shillings  and  more,  and  every  baptized 
child  half  that  amount ;  and  if  a  Jewish  wife  refuses  to 
follow  her  husband  into  the  Church  their  marriage  is 
declared  void,  but  whilst  the  husband  can  marry  again 
and  need  not  support  his  forsaken  wife,  the  latter  is  doomed 
to  remain  a  grass  widow  all  her  life. 

The  State  is  only  passive  in  the  promotion  of  Jewish 
apostasy  ;  it  is  the  Church,  through  a  network  of  missionary 
societies,  that  actively  and  systematically  fosters  it.  Until 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  efforts  of 
missionaries  to  convert  the  Jews  were  carried  on  only 
sporadically,  but  since  the  establishment  in  1809  of  the 
London  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christianity  amongst 
the  Jews  missionary  societies  have  sprung  up  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  There  are  now  112  Protestant  missionary 


296  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


societies,  employing  816  missionary  workers — mostly  con¬ 
verted  J ews — at  229  stations.1  This  army  of  missionaries  is 
distributed  throughout  the  globe,  in  the  New  World  as  in 
the  Old,  in  modern  communities  such  as  London  and  Paris, 
Berlin  and  New  York,  as  well  as  in  semi-civilized  countries 
like  Persia  and  Abyssinia,  Syria  and  Morocco,  all  labouring 
with  zeal,  energy,  and  cunning  to  undermine  the  faith  of 
impoverished  and  weak-kneed  Jews.  Their  methods  are 
manifold  :  they  distribute  New  Testaments  and  tracts  in  all 
languages,  including  Hebrew  and  Yiddish  ;  they  preach  in 
mission-halls  and  in  the  open-air ;  they  give  limelight  lectures 
to  attract  unsuspecting  children,  who  are  presented  with 
sweets  to  come  again  ;  they  maintain  reading-rooms  to 
entice  the  Jewish  workmen  at  night  ;  they  conduct  “  homes 
of  industry/’  where  unemployed  Jews  are  trained  in 
printing,  bookbinding,  and  carpentry,  and  simultaneously 
initiated  into  the  gospel.  They  also  maintain  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  to  which  poor  Jews  resort  in  their  distress,  and 
where  their  souls  are  doctored  equally  with  their  bodies  ; 
they  conduct  mission  schools  in  a  number  of  cities  in  the 
Orient,  where  Jewish  children  are  taught  not  merely  reading 
and  arithmetic  but  the  Christian  catechism  ;  and  they  meet 
hapless  emigrants  from  Eastern  Europe  at  Hamburg  and 
Rotterdam,  Hull  and  Liverpool,  and  accompany  them  on 
steamers  and  trains,  expounding  the  mysteries  of  the  Trinity 
on  the  way  and  exploiting  the  distress  of  their  listeners. 
This  world-wide  campaign  of  soul-hunting  is  prosecuted 
solely  among  the  poor,  who  are  expected  to  fall  a  prey  more 
readily  to  the  dangling  bait ;  the  rich  Jews  are  left  alone, 
not  because  their  souls  are  not  thought  worth  “  saving,”  but 
because  the  missionaries  have  no  access  to  them  and  can 
hold  out  to  them  no  material  inducement.  The  cost 
of  this  work  of  “  salvation  ”  is  enormous.  Between  the 
years  1863  and  1894  the  London  Society  spent  from  £600 
to  £ 3000  upon  the  conversion  of  a  single  Jew  ; 2  and  in 
1898  it  spent  £28,439  upon  the  baptism  of  28  Jews.3  The 


1  Missions  to  Jews,  by  the  late  Rev.  W.  T.  Gidney,  M.A.  (London,  1912). 

2  Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  iv.  p.  252. 

3  Judentaufenim  19  J ahrhundert ,v on  Dr.N.  Samter  (Berlin,  1906),  p.  64. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


297 


total  expenditure  of  the  112  societies  is  not  known,  but  as 
the  annual  income  of  the  London  Society  alone  is  now  over 
£60,000,  we  may  assume,  even  at  a  moderate  estimate,  that 
the  aggregate  expenditure  verges  upon  a  million  sterling 
per  annum.  That  the  result  is  utterly  incommensurate 
with  the  outlay  must  be  obvious  to  anybody  who  studies  the 
reports  of  these  societies.  It  was  a  recognition  of  this  fact 
that  made  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Central  Society  for  the 
Mission  in  Israel,  at  a  conference  in  1890  at  Hanover,  resolve 
not  to  dispatch  any  more  missionaries  in  Germany  “  as 
mostly  only  Jewish  vagabonds,  the  scum  and  outcasts  of 
the  people,  become  baptized.” 1  Even  a  professional 
missionary,  the  German  pastor  De  le  Roi,  declared  : 
“  Never  has  a  Jew  become  baptized  through  conviction,”  2 
and  Luther  himself  characteristically  observed  :  “  It  is  just 
as  possible  to  convert  the  Jews  as  to  convert  the  devil.” 
The  net  result  of  this  conversionist  activity,  which  is  mainly 
financed  by  pious  spinsters  and  blessed  by  the  highest 
dignitaries  of  the  Church,  is  that  it  sows  dissension  between 
parents  and  children,  that  it  saps  the  moral  fibre  of  the 
poor,  and  turns  bad  Jews  into  worse  Christians.  What  a 
world  of  good  could  be  accomplished  if  the  million  sterling 
were  devoted  to  the  suppressing  of  pauperism  and  the 
fighting  of  crime  ! 

Let  us  now  examine  the  number  of  Jews  that  have  been 
lost  through  apostasy  in  modern  times.  According  to  the 
German  pastor,  J.  de  le  Roi,3  who  has  made  a  careful  in¬ 
vestigation  of  the  subject,  the  total  number  of  Jewish 
baptisms  throughout  the  world  in  the  nineteenth  century 
amounted  to  204,542.  The  table  on  the  next  page  shows 
the  number  contributed  by  each  country  and  by  each  of 
the  three  principal  Churches. 

To  this  total  De  le  Roi  adds  19,460  baptisms  of  the 
children  of  mixed  marriages,  so  that  the  grand  total  of 
Jewish  defections  to  Christianity  last  century  amounted 

1  Saat  auf  Hoffnung,  1891,  p.  71. 

2  Allgemeine  Zeitung  des  Judentums,  1893,  p.  317. 

3  Judentaufen  im  19  Jahrhundert,  von  Lie.  Joh.  de  le  Roi  (Leipzig: 
Hinrichs’sche  Buchhandlung,  1899). 


298  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


(in  round  figures)  to  224,000.  In  all  probability  the  total 
was  even  higher,  as  De  le  Roi  in  every  case  adopted  a  low 
estimate,  and  Dalman  puts  the  figure  at  250,000.  The 
conversions  in  the  course  of  the  century  underwent  a  certain 
fluctuation  in  response  to  the  change  of  political  conditions  : 
they  reached  their  lowest  level  in  the  sixth  and  seventh 
decades,  when  political  emancipation  was  granted  to  most 
of  the  Jewish  communities,  and  steadily  began  to  rise  after 


Jewish  Baptisms  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 


Pro¬ 

testant 

Church. 

Roman 

Catholic 

Church. 

Greek 

Church. 

Total. 

United  Kingdom 

28,830 1 

28,830 

Germany .... 

17,520 

5,000 

22,520 

Holland  .... 

1,800 

•  • 

1,800 

Norway  and  Sweden . 

500 

•  • 

500 

Denmark 

100 

•  • 

100 

Switzerland 

100 

•  • 

100 

France  .... 

600 

1,800 

2,400 

Austria  .... 

6,300 

28,200 

Hungary 

2,056 

8,000 

t  200 

44, 756 

Russia  .... 

3P36 

12,000 

69,400 

84,536 

Rumania 

•  • 

•  • 

1,500 

1,500 

Turkey  .... 

•  • 

•  • 

3,300 

3,300 

Greece,  Bulgaria ,  Servia 

•  • 

•  • 

100 

100 

Italy  .... 

•  • 

300 

•  • 

300 

Asia  and  Africa 

100 

500 

•  • 

600 

Australia 

200 

.  # 

•  • 

200 

North  America 

11,500 

1,500 2 

•  • 

13,000 

Total 

72,742 

57,300 

74,500 

204,542 

the  eighties,  partly  as  a  result  of  the  growth  of  Anti- 
Semitism  and  partly  because  of  the  increased  activity  of  the 
missionaries.  In  Russia  they  reached  the  highest  figure, 
4439,  in  the  year  1854 ;  they  then  declined  to  352  in  1863  ; 
but  under  Alexander  III  they  again  increased  to  1420  in 
1893.  Germany  witnessed  two  main  periods  of  apostasy, 

1  Includes  5330  conversions  made  by  British  missions  abroad. 

2  Includes  conversions  to  the  Catholic  Church  in  Holland  and  Switzer¬ 
land. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


299 


the  first  from  1822  to  1840,  when  there  was  an  average  of 
122  converts  a  year,  and  the  second,  with  the  rise  of  Anti- 
Semitism,  from  1880,  reaching  the  highest  figure,  348,  in 
1888.  Most  remarkable  are  the  number  of  defections  in  the 
United  Kingdom  :  the  total,  23,500,  in  proportion  to  the 
Jewish  population  of  the  country,  represents  a  ratio  of 
apostasy  six  times  larger  than  that  in  Germany,1  which  is 
usually  regarded  as  the  classic  land  of  Jewish  baptisms. 
The  Church  that  has  relatively  been  most  successful  in 
enriching  itself  at  the  expense  of  Jewr}^  is  the  Protestant 
Church,  considering  that  the  number  of  Jews  in  purely 
Protestant  countries  form  only  a  small  minority,  and  its 
success  is  doubtless  due  to  the  energy  of  the  missionary 
societies. 

The  defections  from  Judaism  have  continued  with  even 
greater  intensity  since  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth 
century,  partly  in  the  direct  form  of  baptism  and  partly 
through  intermarriage.  Their  increase  is  particularly  note¬ 
worthy  in  the  great  Jewish  centres  of  Vienna  and  Berlin, 
where  even  the  regular  publication  in  a  Jewish  newspaper  of 
the  names  of  the  renegades  hardly  acts  as  a  deterrent.  The 
number  of  Jewish  defections  in  all  the  provinces  of  Austria 
is  computed  at  840-900  per  annum,  which  is  equivalent  to 
one  in  every  1360-1480  Jews.2  In  Galicia,  outside  Lemberg 
and  Cracow,  there  are  very  few  cases  of  baptism,  and  in  all 
they  do  not  exceed  80  per  annum,  which  corresponds  to  one 
per  10,000  ;  whilst  a  similar  condition  prevails  in  Bukovina. 
The  principal  hotbed  of  apostasy  in  Austria  is  Vienna,  where 
in  1868-79  there  were  50  baptisms  per  annum,  equal  to 
one  among  1200  Jews  ;  in  1880-89,  220  baptisms  per 
annum,  equal  to  one  among  420-430  Jews  ;  and  in  1890- 
1903,  455  Per  annum,  equal  to  one  among  260-270  Jews. 

1  De  le  Roi,  p.  22. 

2  Dr.  J.  Thon,  Die  Juden  in  Oesterveich,  pp.  69-80.  In  Austria-Hun¬ 
gary  and  Germany  those  who  secede  from  Judaism  must  report  their 
secession  to  a  civil  authority,  and  hence  official  statistics  of  such  secessions 
are  available.  Children  under  seven  years  of  age  are  included  in  their 
parents’  conversion,  but  are  not  registered  ;  those  above  fourteen  are 
registered  separately  ;  whilst  children  between  these  ages  remain  in  the 
old  faith  until  they  reach  the  latter  age. 


300 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


But  in  the  five  years  1906-10,  when  there  were  2818  de¬ 
fections  (1512  males  and  1306  females),1  although  the  aver¬ 
age  rose  to  563  per  annum,  it  amounted,  owing  to  the  in¬ 
crease  of  the  population,  to  one  defection  among  293-294 
J ews,  which  seems  to  point  to  a  slight  slackening  of  apostasy. 
As  for  the  absolute  figures  they  declined  from  639  in  1903 
to  512  in  1910,  rising  again  to  627  in  1911.  An  interesting 
feature  of  the  defections  in  Vienna  is  that  a  good  proportion 
consists  of  those  who  do  not  join  the  Church  but  declare 
themselves  free-thinkers,  an  act  that  is  invested  with  less 
moral  turpitude  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jewish  community,  and 
which  is  generally  committed  to  pave  the  way  to  a  mixed 
marriage,  as  marriages  between  Jews  and  Christians  are 
forbidden  in  Austria.  In  1886-1903  one-fifth  of  the  Jews 
in  Vienna  who  deserted  the  Pale  declared  themselves 
confessionslos.  It  is  furthermore  interesting  to  note  that 
in  the  period  1906-10  there  were  435  proselytes  to  Judaism, 
comprising  335  women  and  100  men,  caused  by  marriages 
with  persons  of  the  Jewish  faith  ;  but  these  can  hardly  be 
regarded  as  a  compensation  for  communal  losses,  as  the 
offspring  of  such  marriages  invariably,  sooner  or  later,  drift 
away.  The  proselytes  generally  comprise  three  times  as 
many  women  as  men,  owing  to  marriages  between  Christian 
women  and  Jews  being  much  more  frequent  than  between 
Christians  and  Jewesses.  Another  significant  phenomenon 
is  that  in  the  two  years  1910-11,  378  converted  Jews 
returned  to  the  fold.2 

In  Hungary  the  number  of  defections  in  the  years 
1895-1911  was  6915, 3  an  average  of  406  per  annum,  corre¬ 
sponding  to  one  among  2260  Jews.  Here,  too,  the  actual 
figures  must  be  higher,  as  the  official  record  includes  only 
those  who  made  personal  declarations  of  withdrawal  from 
Judaism,  and,  as  in  Austria,  does  not  include  children  under 
seven  years  of  age.  The  defections  rose  from  169  in  1897  to 
486  in  1901,  and  again  to  512  in  1910,  declining  to  473  in 
1 91 1.  In  Budapest  alone  there  were  1539  cases  of  apostasy 
in  1896-1904,  an  average  of  171  per  annum,  corresponding 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographic  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  1912,  p.  131. 

2  Die  Welt ,  1912,  p.  i486.  3  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  80. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


301 


to  one  among  1088  Jews.  In  the  whole  of  Hungary  there 
were  106  proselytes  against  510  defections  in  1908,  and  124 
proselytes  against  512  defections  in  1910.  In  Croatia- 
Slavonia  there  were  285  defections  in  1898-1910. 1  In 
Germany,  too,  there  has  been  an  increase  of  conversions. 
In  the  ten  years  1884-93  there  were  3544  baptisms,  an 
average  of  354  per  annum,  whilst  in  1894-1903  there  were 
4807,  an  average  of  480  per  annum.  The  highest  pro¬ 
portion  is  contributed  by  Berlin,  where  in  1897-1900  there 
were  383  defections,  an  average  of  95  per  annum  ;  in 
1901-04  a  total  of  513,  with  an  average  of  128  per  annum  ; 
and  in  1905-08  an  increase  to  648,  with  an  increased  average 
of  162  per  annum.  This  last  average  corresponds  to  one 
defection  among  every  620  Jews,  a  condition  that  is  much 
worse  than  that  in  Budapest,  but  only  half  as  bad  as  in 
Vienna.  Statistics  of  recent  secessions  in  other  countries 
are  not  available. 

The  signs  of  the  times  point  to  an  increasing  drift 
from  Judaism.  The  depreciation  of  religion  in  general 
makes  the  change  of  one  creed  for  another  an  easy  process, 
as  it  is  not  judged  by  the  world  so  severely  as  in  a  previous 
generation  :  it  is  often  regarded  as  of  no  greater  significance 
than  a  transference  of  State  allegiance,  and  the  average 
Jewish  renegade  receives  his  baptismal  certificate  almost 
with  the  same  ease  of  conscience  as  he  would  a  letter  of 
naturalization.  The  all- compelling  motive  is  the  desire 
for  equality  of  opportunity  in  the  competition  of  life,  and 
hence  thousands  of  Jewish  parents  of  the  middle  and 
upper  classes  in  Germany,  who  hesitate  to  secede  them¬ 
selves,  as  they  can  no  longer  benefit  by  the  act,  do  not 
scruple  to  have  their  children  baptized  in  infancy,  so  as 
to  secure  for  them  an  uninterrupted  path  for  their  later 
career.  The  severest  ravages  caused  by  apostasy  are  now 
taking  place  in  Russia,  where  the  Jews,  rendered  desperate 
by  the  pogroms  and  disappointed  by  the  abortive  Revolution, 
are  deserting  their  faith  in  thousands.  The  present  epi¬ 
demic  is  almost  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  Russian 
Jewry  :  more  conversions  are  said  to  have  occurred 

|  1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  dev  Juden,  1912,  p.  167. 


302 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


during  the  last  two  years  than  during  the  previous  twenty 
years.1  The  class  that  is  particularly  affected  consists  of 
those  engaged  in  liberal  professions  and  those  who 
wish  to  enter  them  :  as  the  universities  are  closed  to  all 
but  a  very  trifling  number  the  only  sure  method  of  securing 
admission  is  to  present  a  baptismal  certificate,  and  hence 
on  the  eve  of  every  academic  session  there  are  wholesale 
baptisms  of  Jewish  students.  In  Odessa,  a  little  while 
ago,  a  society  was  formed  by  forty  Jewish  students  to  dis¬ 
cuss  what  religion  they  should  adopt  and  to  deliberate 
upon  measures  of  self-protection  from  the  effects  of  their 
apostasy.  Measures  of  self  -  protection,  however,  are 
scarcely  necessary,  for  an  attitude  of  tolerance,  almost 
of  indulgence,  has  been  adopted  within  the  community 
towards  those  who  betray  it.  This  is  the  most  disquieting 
feature  of  the  whole  movement,  and  it  has  prompted  the 
issue  of  a  dignified  manifesto,  written  by  the  historian 
Dubnow,  which  protests  against  the  continuance  of  social 
relations  with  renegades,  and  warns  the  community  of  the 
demoralization  that  is  otherwise  bound  to  ensue.  “  Strain 
every  effort  to  put  a  check  to  the  plague  of  conversion. 
But  when  conversion  has  taken  place,  observe  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Sanctity  of  the  Host  of  Israel,  and  draw  a 
boundary  line  between  those  who  fight  for  the  nation  and 
those  who  have  betrayed  it/'  2 

But  a  far  more  sinister  and  dangerous  foe  than  con¬ 
version  is  intermarriage,  the  inevitable  outcome  of  social 
intercourse  between  Jews  and  Christians.  Until  about  the 
middle  of  last  century  marriages  between  J ews  and  Christians 
in  which  both  parties  adhered  to  their  parental  religion 
were  comparatively  rare,  as  they  were  forbidden  not  only 
by  the  Synagogue  and  the  Church,  but  also  by  the  Govern¬ 
ments  of  the  countries  in  which  the  great  bulk  of  J  ews  were 
settled.  They  first  developed  to  notable  proportions  in 
France,  under  the  benign  influence  of  political  emancipa- 

1  This  is  the  opinion  of  Dr.  A.  Coralnik,  the  Berlin  correspondent  of  the 
Kiev  Retsch.  Mr.  Reuben  Brainin,  the  eminent  Hebrew  author,  told  me 
that  he  considered  even  this  estimate  too  low. 

2  The  Zionist ,  October  1913,  p.  72. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


303 


tion,  and  were  looked  upon  with  favour  by  Napoleon,  who 
submitted  a  question  on  the  legality  of  such  unions  from 
the  point  of  view  of  Jewish  law  to  the  Paris  Sanhedrin  of 
1806.  The  reply  of  the  Sanhedrin  was  evasive,  as  it  simply 
stated  :  “  Marriages  between  Israelites  and  Christians 

when  concluded  in  accordance  with  the  civil  code  are  valid, 
and  though  they  cannot  be  solemnized  by  the  religious  rites 
of  Judaism,  they  should  not  be  subject  to  the  ban.”  1 
This  pronouncement  almost  amounted  to  an  acquiescence 
in  mixed  marriages,  and  perhaps  accounted  for  the  large 
number  of  unions  between  Jews  and  Christians  in  the 
succeeding  decades,  in  which  the  impoverished  aristocracy 
of  France  replenished  its  coffers  and  redeemed  its  estates 
with  Jewish  dowries.  A  similar  tendency  towards  alliances 
between  the  Christian  nobility  and  the  daughters  of  Israel 
manifested  itself  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  including 
England,  and  there  is  now  an  extensive  and  brilliant  array 
of  titled  families,  many  of  them  with  very  ancient  pedigrees 
and  allied  to  royal  houses,  that  have  been  infused  with 
Jewish  blood.2  The  marriage-bond  has  been  warmly  ad¬ 
vocated  by  statesmen  and  philosophers  as  the  most  effective 
method  of  reconciling  Jewry  and  Christendom,  and  re¬ 
deeming  Israel  at  length  from  all  its  troubles.  Bismarck’s 
approval  of  intermarriage  was  qualified  by  the  restriction 
that  only  “  a  Christian  stallion  should  be  mated  to  a  Jewish 
mare,” 3  and  he  is  said  not  to  have  been  at  all  opposed  to  one 
of  his  sons  marrying  a  Jewess.  But  whether  an  increase  of 
mixed  marriages  would  put  an  end  to  Anti-Semitism  is  very 
doubtful,  as  such  unions  have  produced  some  of  the  bitter¬ 
est  foes  of  Israel.  Intermarriage  could  put  an  end  to 
Anti-Semitism  only  by  first  putting  an  end  to  Jewry  itself. 

The  degree  of  the  prevalence  of  intermarriage  in  various 
countries  directly  corresponds  with  the  degree  of  religious 
indifference  :  those  who  never  eat  at  a  Christian  table  are 
never  likely  to  be  united  for  life  to  a  Christian  ;  but  it  also 

1  Graetz,  History  of  the  Jews,  vol.  v.  p.  529. 

2  An  imposing  list  is  given  by  Dr.  N.  Samter,  Judentaufen,  pp.  87-93. 

3  M.  Busch,  Graf  Bismarck  und  seine  Leute  (Leipzig,  1878),  vol.  ii.  p. 


304 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


depends  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  material  prosperity  of 
the  Jews  and  the  degree  of  their  social  intercourse  with 
their  neighbours.  Hence,  in  the  regions  marked  by  poverty 
and  by  attachment  to  traditional  Judaism,  such  as  Eastern 
Europe  and  the  Orient,  mixed  marriages  are  almost  un¬ 
known.  In  Galicia  there  were  only  six  cases  in  the  years 
1900-03,  whilst  in  Bukovina  there  was  not  even  one  in 
that  period.  Similarly  in  Rumania  mixed  marriages 
formed  only  i*ii  per  cent  of  the  purely  Jewish  marriages 
in  1896-99,  though  the  percentage  in  Bucharest  in  1904-05 
was  3'52.1  Mixed  marriages  are  still  forbidden  in  Catholic 
countries,  whether  subject  to  the  Roman  or  the  Greek 
Church,  as  well  as  in  all  Moslem  countries,  and  hence  they 
are  unknown  in  Russia,  Austria,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  and 
wherever  the  rule  of  Islam  prevails.  In  Austria  the  only 
mixed  marriages  permitted  and  recorded  are  those  between 
Jews  and  persons  of  no  religion  or  free-thinkers,  although 
unions  between  Christians  and  free-thinkers,  which  are  not 
recorded,  may  just  as  well  be  mixed  Jewish  marriages. 
The  proportion  of  mixed  to  purely  Jewish  marriages  thus 
seems  very  lowr :  between  1881  and  1909  the  mixed  marriages 
incresaed  from  51  to  216,  and  the  pure  marriages  from 
3287  to  9474,  the  proportion  of  mixed  marriages  rising 
from  1*58  to  2*2  per  cent.2  A  somewhat  higher  percentage, 
2 '96, 3  is  shown  by  Bohemia,  owing  to  the  liberalism  of  the 
new  generation  in  Prague,  and  by  Trieste,  which  is  cultur¬ 
ally  under  the  influence  of  Italy  ;  whilst  a  considerably 
higher  percentage,  ii‘i,  is  shown  by  Vienna  (1904-07), 
the  hotbed  of  apostasy.  But  if  (we  bear  in  mind  the 
enormous  number  of  secessions  that  take  place  annually  in 
Austria  we  shall  have  a  truer  picture  of  the  extent  of  inter¬ 
marriage.  Hungary,  which  has  a  lower  record  of  conver¬ 
sion,  has  a  higher  record  of  mixed  marriages,  which  have 
been  allowed  there  since  1895.  In  1895-99  there  was  an 
average  of  372  mixed  marriages  and  6694  purely  Jewish 

1  Die  Juden  in  Rumdnien  (Berlin,  1908),  p.  19. 

2  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  unci  Statistik  der  Juden,  1912,  p.  135. 

3  This  was  the  percentage  for  1900-03 :  it  has  probably  since 
increased. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


305 


marriages  per  annum,  a  percentage  of  5*56  ;  but  by  the 
year  1911  the  numbers  rose  to  786  and  7361  respectively, 
showing  more  than  double  this  initial  percentage,  viz. 
1 1  *3 7.1  As  in  the  case  of  Austria,  the  largest  proportion 
of  mixed  marriages  is  provided  by  the  capital,  Budapest, 
where  in  1901-04  they  formed  i6-5  per  cent  of  the  purely 
Jewish  marriages  (211  against  1275).  A  somewhat  lower 
record  is  presented  by  Amsterdam  (which  contains  three- 
fifths  of  the  Jews  in  Holland),  where  in  the  period  1904-12 
the  percentage  rose  from  12  to  13. 2 

A  considerable  ascent  in  the  scale  of  exogamy  is  pro¬ 
vided  by  Germany,  where  mixed  marriages  have  been 
allowed  since  1875.  In  1901  there  were  658  such  unions 
1°  3$73  purely  Jewish  marriages,  but  in  1910  the  mixed 
marriages  had  increased  to  1003,  whilst  the  unmixed 
marriages  stood  at  3880 :  the  increased  proportion  of 
intermarriages  being  represented  by  a  rise  from  i6'97  to 
25'85  per  cent.3  In  other  words,  one-fourth  of  the  Jews 
in  Germany  now  marry  Christians.  In  Prussia  the  pro¬ 
portion  is  even  higher:  between  1875  and  1911  it  actually 
trebled,  rising  from  io’i  to  29^48  per  cent,  though  in 
Catholic  Bavaria  it  is  only  9^6  per  cent.  The  proportion 
of  mixed  marriages  in  Frankfort-on-the-Maine  is  29  per 
cent,4  whilst  in  Berlin  it  is  as  much  as  43*8  per  cent,  and 
in  Hamburg  even  higher  still,  49^5  per  cent.  But  even  these 
abnormally  high  figures  are  far  transcended  by  Copenhagen, 
which  contains  four-fifths  of  the  Jews  of  Denmark.  In 
this  city,  in  the  period  1880-89,  the  proportion  of  mixed 
marriages  was  55*8  per  cent,  and  in  1900-05  as  high  as 
82-89  per  cent ;  whilst  in  Sweden,  according  to  Dr.  Samter, 
more  mixed  marriages  occur  than  purely  Jewish  marriages.5 
The  only  other  European  country  for  which  figures  are 
available  is  Italy,  where  in  the  province  of  Rovigo,  in  1881, 
the  mixed  marriages  formed  34 u  per  cent  of  the  unmixed 

1  Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  dev  Juden,  1913,  p.  119. 

2  Ibid.,  1913,  pp.  14-15  and  152. 

3  Ibid.,  1912,  p.  166  ;  1913,  p.  44. 

4  Ibid.,  1913,  p.  15. 

6  J udentaufen,  p.  82. 

20 


3°6 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


marriages,1  but  in  all  probability  the  percentage  for  the 
whole  of  Italy  at  present  is  much  higher.  There  are  no 
statistics  available  for  England  and  America,  where  mixed 
marriages  are  by  no  means  an  unknown  phenomenon  ; 
they  are  steadily  on  the  increase  among  the  upper  middle 
and  rich  classes,  but  rather  infrequent  among  the  East 
European  Jews  in  London,  New  York,  and  other  large 
cities.  The  advanced  religious  liberalism  in  the  United 
States  makes  that  country  a  fertile  soil  for  intermarriages, 
especially  as  certain  Reform  Rabbis  are  willing  to  solemnize 
them :  they  are  estimated  at  5  per  cent  in  the  northern 
and  about  33  per  cent  in  the  southern  states.2  The  only 
English-speaking  region  of  which  statistics  are  available 
is  Australia,  where,  according  to  the  census  of  1911,  the 
proportion  of  mixed  marriages  was  20*4  per  cent,3  which  is 
lower  on  the  scale  than  the  record  of  Germany.  Owing 
to  a  recent  revival  of  religious  and  communal  life,  there 
has  been  a  notable  diminution  during  the  last  decade  in 
the  proportion  of  mixed  marriages  in  Australia,  where  in 
1901  they  amounted  to  46*1  per  cent. 

The  widespread  prevalence  of  intermarriage  constitutes 
a  grave  and  growing  loss  to  Jewry,  as  only  a  small  pre- 
centage  of  the  offspring  of  mixed  unions  is  permanently 
retained  within  the  fold.  Whether  Judeo-Chnstian  mar¬ 
riages  are  as  fertile  as  purely  Jewish  marriages  is  a  question 
that  has  not  yet  been  definitely  solved.  Dr.  Fishberg 
states  4  that  Dr.  Ruppin  “  showed  conclusively  ”  that  there 
is  no  real  basis  for  asserting  that  mixed  marriages  are  less 
fertile  than  pure  ones,  but  Dr.  Ruppin,  in  his  latest  utter¬ 
ance,  is  not  so  positive  on  this  point.  On  the  contrary, 
he  says  :  “  It  is  to  a  certain  degree  probable  that  infertility 
is  more  frequent  in  mixed  than  in  pure  marriages,’ ’  and 
he  quotes  the  Prussian  statistics  for  1905  which  show  that 
37*91  per  cent  of  the  existing  mixed  marriages  were 
childless.5  Even  Dr.  Fishberg  quotes  the  New  South  Wales 

1  Dr.  F.  Theilhaber,  Der  Untergang  der  deutschen  Juden,  p.  108. 

2  Dr.  M.  Fishberg,  The  Jews,  p.  203. 

3  Jewish  Chronicle,  14th  March  1913.  4  The  Jews,  p.  210. 

5  Dr.  Ruppin,  Die  Juden  der  Gegenwart,  p.  172. 


DRIFT  AND  APOSTASY 


307 


Census  of  1901,  which  shows  that  while  the  average  number 
of  children  per  family  of  the  general  population  was  3 '48, 
and  the  average  number  in  a  purely  Jewish  family  4*06, 
the  average  in  a  Judeo-Christian  family  was  2'0i.  It  is 
impossible  to  determine  with  exactness  the  relative  fecun¬ 
dity  of  pure  and  mixed  marriages  until  an  investigation 
is  made  into  the  number  of  children  of  the  existing  pure 
and  mixed  marriages  in  a  particular  country  born  within 
a  given  period  after  marriage.  What  is  certain,  however, 
is  that  there  is  a  gradual  decline  in  the  number  of  births 
from  purely  Jewish  marriages  and  a  parallel  increase  in 
the  number  of  births  from  mixed  marriages,  so  that  the 
children  of  intermarriages  form  a  steadily  growing  pro¬ 
portion  of  Jewish  posterity.  In  Prussia  this  proportion 
rose  from  3 *48  to  12 ’03  per  cent,  and  in  Bavaria  from 
0*83  to  6*9  percent,  in  the  period  1875-1908  ;  in  Hungary 
it  increased  from  0*97  to  1*87  per  cent  in  1897-1906  ;  in 
Holland  it  was  4*8  and  in  Copenhagen  47-2  per  cent  in 
1906. 1  And,  what  is  most  significant  of  all,  the  percentage 
of  children  of  mixed  marriages  who  definitely  remain 
within  the  Jewish  pale  is  gradually  decreasing.  In  Prussia 
the  percentage  declined  from  25*48  to  22*67  between  1890 
and  1905  ;  in  Hungary  the  percentage  for  1896-1906  was 
only  14*04  ;  and  in  Copenhagen,  in  1906,  it  was  16*5. 
Moreover,  these  figures  relate  to  the  children  who  are  still 
under  the  parental  roof,  but  a  considerable  discount  must 
be  made  when  we  remember  that  such  children  have  a 
strong  temptation  to  desert  the  Jewish  fold  ;  as  they 
already  have  Christian  relatives  and  the  Jewish  influences 
at  home  are  weak  their  secession  to  Christendom  when  they 
grow  up  is  almost  natural.  We  can  therefore  agree  with 
Dr.  Ruppin  that  perhaps  not  more  than  a  tenth  of  the 
offspring  of  mixed  marriages  is  kept  within  the  Jewish  com¬ 
munity. 

Religious  indifference,  secession,  baptism,  intermarriage 
— such  are  the  various  ways  in  which  Jewry  is  being  reft  of 
its  children  year  by  year  and  in  which  its  strength  is  likely 
to  be  sapped  even  in  greater  measure  in  the  years  to  come. 

1  Dr.  Ruppin,  Die  Juden  dev  Gegenwart,  p.  170  seq. 


BOOK  VII 


THE  NATIONAL  ASPECT 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Jewish  question  par  excellence 

WE  have  now  surveyed  the  life  and  labour  of  modern 
J  ewry  from  every  important  angle  of  vision.  We 
have  studied  its  social  conditions,  customs,  and 
institutions.  We  have  examined  its  varied  status  of  free¬ 
dom  or  bondage  in  the  political  world,  and  noted  the 
services  it  has  rendered  in  such  generous  measure  to  con¬ 
temporary  States.  We  have  investigated  its  distribution 
and  activity  in  the  different  departments  of  the  economic 
sphere,  its  ceaseless  wanderings,  and  its  inordinate  share 
of  poverty.  We  have  surveyed  its  work  in  the  intellec¬ 
tual  world,  its  vigorous  participation  in  advanced  educa¬ 
tion,  its  cultural  products  of  a  national  character,  and  its 
manifold  services  to  the  culture  and  progress  of  humanity. 
And  lastly,  we  have  passed  under  review  its  religious 
conditions  and  tendencies,  the  contrasts  of  faith  and 
observance  that  manifest  themselves,  the  general  decline 
of  traditional  piety,  and  the  increasing  growth  of  apostasy 
and  intermarriage.  We  have  now  to  inquire  into  the 
general  drift  of  all  the  currents  and  tendencies  that  we 
have  observed  in  this  sequence  of  surveys,  to  see  whether 
the  prospects  of  the  Jewish  people  as  a  whole — as  a  people 
and  not  as  a  multitude  of  scattered  individuals — are  good 
or  bad  :  in  short,  to  estimate  what  is  to  be  the  future,  the 
destiny  of  the  Jewish  people.  It  is  this  question  that  is  the 
J ewish  Question  par  excellence.  Every  country  with  a  large 

308 


INTRODUCTION 


309 


Jewish  population  has,  it  is  true,  its  own  Jewish  question  : 
in  Russia  and  Rumania  it  is  the  denial  of  civil  equality, 
in  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  it  is  the  prevalence  of 
Anti-Semitism,  in  England  and  America  it  is  the  restriction 
of  alien  immigration  and  of  Sunday  labour.  In  each  of 
these  countries  the  Jews  are  mostly  concerned  with  their 
own  local  question.  But  above  and  beyond  all  these 
local  questions  is  the  great  question  of  the  future  of  Jewry 
of  which  the  other  questions  are  merely  parts.  Is  Jewry 
destined  to  grow  in  number  and  strength  ;  or  has  it  already, 
like  many  other  nations  in  ancient  times,  attained  the  height 
of  its  development,  and  is  it  now  doomed  to  dwindle  slowly 
but  surely  to  a  position  of  insignificance  ?  What  is  the 
strength  of  the  forces  that  are  making  for  its  dissolution, 
what  the  strength  of  the  forces  of  conservation,  and  on 
which  side  lies  the  balance  ?  And  if  the  balance  lies  on 
the  side  of  the  forces  of  dissolution,  what  effective  measure 
can  be  adopted  to  counteract  them  and  so  ensure  for  the 
Jewish  people  a  prolongation  of  life  ? 


CHAPTER  I 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 

The  conserving  influence  of  the  Ghetto — The  disintegrating  effect 
of  intellectual  emancipation,  and  of  social  and  political  emanci¬ 
pation — Assimilation  in  Eastern  Jewry — Anti-Semitism  as  a  con¬ 
serving  force — The  inherent  conserving  force  of  communal  organ¬ 
ization — The  Russo- Jewish  factor — The  relative  importance  of 
religion  and  territory — Nation  or  religious  community — The 
economic  condition  of  national  existence — The  intellectual  con¬ 
dition  :  language  and  education — The  physical  condition  :  com¬ 
pact  concentration — The  land  question  :  territorialism — The  Zionist 
solution 


t  U  *^HE  Jewish  people  has  occupied  the  stage  of  history 
1  for  such  a  considerable  span  of  time  that  any  sugges- 

JL  tion  of  the  possibility  of  its  extinction  may  perhaps 
be  spurned  as  unthinkable.  A  nation  that  has  survived  exile 
nearly  two  thousand  years,  that  has  passed  through  endless 
crises  and  perils,  endured  countless  persecutions,  expulsions, 
and  massacres,  and  that  to-day,  scattered  over  the  face  of 
the  whole  world,  is  more  numerous  than  at  any  previous 
period  in  its  annals  and  flourishes  in  a  multitude  of  populous 
communities  in  every  continent — that  such  a  nation  should 
now  show  signs  of  decay  and  dissolution,  may  perhaps  be 
regarded  as  the  view  of  a  purblind  pessimist  or  the  fancy  of 
a  paradox-monger.  But  it  is  neither.  A  dispassionate  and 
comprehensive  survey  of  J ewish  life  at  the  present  day  shows 
that  its  conditions  and  tendencies  are  utterly  different  from 
those  that  prevailed  until  the  spread  of  emancipation,  and 
that  their  resultant  effect  militates  against  its  survival. 
Cooped  up  as  the  Jews  were  in  former  ages  in  Ghettos, 
isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  population  not  only  locally 
and  socially,  but  also  economically  and  intellectually,  they 

310 


THE  WAILING  WALL  IN  JERUSALEM 


FROM  AN  ETCHING  BY  EPHRAIM  M.  LILIEN 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


3ii 

led  a  life  of  their  own,  self-contained  if  not  always  self- 
contented,  in  which  they  cultivated  their  traditional  ideals 
and  customs  and  fostered  and  developed  their  cultural 
possessions.  Although  they  had  no  land  of  their  own  they 
made  their  Ghetto  a  little  Zion,  pending  the  call  of  the 
Messiah  whom  they  were  willing  at  any  moment  to  follow 
to  the  historic  Zion  ;  although  they  no  longer  spoke  the 
national  language  of  their  forefathers  they  prayed  in  it  daily 
and  understood  it,  and  they  had  a  peculiar  language  of  their 
own  in  many  lands,  Judeo-German,  Judeo- Spanish,  or 
Judeo-Arabic  ;  although  they  no  longer  dwelt  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan  or  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Carmel  their  lives  were 
coloured  by  customs  and  visions  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  all 
their  sufferings  were  soothed  by  the  thought  that  they  would 
one  day  be  gathered  again  to  the  land  of  their  ancestors. 
Living  as  they  did  in  the  midst  of  all  the  nations,  and  ex¬ 
posed  on  every  side  to  obloquy  and  hostility,  they  neverthe¬ 
less  had  the  surest  guarantee  of  survival,  for  they  lived  a 
life  of  their  own  and  were  sustained  by  the  hope  of  a 
national  restoration. 

But  since  the  dawn  of  emancipation  a  change  has  come 
over  the  face  of  Jewry  :  it  has  been  slowly  giving  up  its 
own  life  and  adopting  the  life  of  its  Christian  neighbours. 
The  change  began  long  before  the  spread  of  political  emanci¬ 
pation  :  it  began  with  the  intellectual  emancipation  that 
started  upon  its  course  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  the  Jews  exchanged  their  own  tongue  for  the  language 
of  their  country,  when  they  abandoned  their  exclusive  devo¬ 
tion  to  a  religious  education  and  acquired  all  branches  of 
secular  learning,  and  when  they  extended  their  intellectual 
horizon  by  studying  the  philosophy  and  literature  of  other 
nations.  One  of  the  motives  that  impelled  them  along  this 
course  was  the  desire  to  show  themselves  worthy  of  civil 
equality,  for  the  burdens  and  humiliations  to  which  they 
were  subjected,  particularly  on  the  Continent,  did  not 
become  pleasanter  even  after  long  acquaintance.  And 
with  the  acquisition  of  civil  rights,  given  in  no  country 
willingly,  but  fought  for  everywhere  stubbornly  and  secured 
only  in  instalments,  a  further  impetus  was  given  to  the 


312 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


quest  of  higher  education,  for  gradually  the  universities 
were  thrown  open  to  Jewish  students,  and,  with  their  tradi¬ 
tional  passion  for  learning,  Jews  were  not  slow  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  welcome  opportunity.  The  effect  of  the 
acquisition  of  modern  education  has  been  elevating  and 
fructifying  so  far  as  individual  Jews  are  concerned,  for  they 
have  distinguished  themselves  in  a  constantly  growing 
measure  in  every  department  of  scholarship  and  science  and 
have  rendered  important  and  lasting  contributions  to  the 
culture  and  progress  of  humanity.  But  the  effect  upon 
Jewry  as  a  people  has  been  disintegrating,  for  intellectual 
enlightenment  has  dissolved  the  bond  of  faith  and  dispelled 
the  customs  and  ideals  of  tradition.  It  has  undermined  the 
allegiance  of  the  Jew  both  to  the  Oral  and  the  Written  Law, 
weakened  his  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  of  the  cycle 
of  feasts  and  fasts,  estranged  him  from  the  synagogue, 
made  him  neglectful  and  forgetful  of  his  national  tongue, 
and  drawn  him  with  ever  more  irresistible  attraction  to  the 
world  of  thought  around  him.  Such  an  effect  was  inevit¬ 
able,  for  when  the  Jew  is  taught  in  a  Gentile  school  and  fed 
upon  Gentile  literature  ;  when  he  receives  all  his  edification 
and  inspiration  from  Gentile  sources — books,  newspapers, 
pictures,  plays,  operas,  and  the  thousand  and  one  social, 
intellectual,  and  political  movements  of  the  day — not 
because  he  deliberately  chooses  them,  but  because  he  has 
no  choice  at  all  in  his  environment,  it  is  but  natural  that  his 
spirit  should  undergo  a  transformation  and  become  assimi¬ 
lated  to  the  spirit  of  the  nation  in  whose  midst  he  dwells. 

Education  alone,  however,  would  not  have  produced 
assimilation  to  any  wide  extent ;  this  effect  would  have 
been  confined  almost  wholly  to  the  richer  class.  But  the 
intellectual  emancipation  was  soon  followed  by  social 
emancipation,  by  free  intercourse  between  Jews  and 
Gentiles  in  society  and  in  commerce  ;  and  by  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century  almost  the  whole  of  Western  Jewry 
were  endowed  with  civil  and  political  equality.  All  the 
artificial  barriers  that  had  hitherto  divided  Jew  from 
Gentile  were  thus  overthrown  and  removed,  and  there 
began  a  movement  of  fraternization,  to  atone,  as  it  were, 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


3i3 


for  the  hostility  of  centuries.  All  avenues  became  open  to 
Jewish  enterprise  and  ambition,  all  branches  of  economic 
activity,  trades  and  manufactures,  the  liberal  professions, 
and  municipal  and  Government  service.  With  resistless 
advance  the  Jews  pressed  forward  along  every  path,  fired 
by  ambition  and  aided  by  talent,  lured  ever  farther  from 
the  narrow  confines  of  the  Ghetto  to  the  dazzling  careers 
that  awaited  them  in  the  outer  world,  where  many  of  them 
sooner  or  later  forgot  their  origin,  or  even  forswore  it  to 
attain  their  goal.  For  whilst  in  lands  of  perfect  equality, 
such  as  England,  America,  and  Italy,  Jews  could  attain  to 
the  highest  offices  without  any  sacrifice  of  their  faith, 
in  Germany  Judaism  still  constitutes  a  disability  of 
which  many  rid  themselves  with  an  easy  conscience 
and  a  little  baptismal  water.  But  even  among  those 
who  do  not  move  in  intellectual  or  political  circles  the 
free  unfettered  intercourse  with  their  Christian  neigh¬ 
bours  in  social  and  business  relations  has  wrought  damage 
to  the  Jewish  community,  for  an  increasing  number  of  its 
children  have  intermarried  with  the  children  of  the  Church, 
and  though  they  may  nominally  continue  their  adhesion  to 
Judaism  their  very  act  gives  it  the  lie,  and  their  posterity 
are  lost  for  ever  to  the  Jewish  fold.  The  net  result  of 
emancipation  has  thus  been  assimilation  in  every  land  and 
in  every  class,  an  assimilation  that  is  confined  for  the  most 
part  to  the  social  and  intellectual  life,  but  which  trespasses 
ever  more  and  more  upon  the  religious  domain  and  claims 
an  annually  increasing  number  of  apostates  and  mixed 
marriages.  Even  those  who  do  not  formally  abandon 
Judaism  for  Christianity,  because  they  believe  in  neither, 
drift  away  from  their  people  as  soon  as  the  synagogue  has 
ceased  to  appeal  to  them  ;  they  may  for  a  time,  and  per¬ 
haps  even  to  death,  manifest  their  attachment  through 
philanthropic  activity — a  sphere  of  endless  dimensions  in 
the  Jewish  world,  but  their  children  are  not  likely  to  be 
retained  even  by  such  a  bond.  Nor  is  the  decadence  of 
Jewry  confined  to  the  loss  of  those  whom  it  once  numbered 
as  its  children,  but  it  also  extends  to  the  diminution  of  the 
children  who  actually  come  into  the  world.  The  ancient 


314 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


ideals  of  early  marriage  and  a  numerous  progeny,  cultivated 
with  natural  impulsiveness  and  as  a  national  habit  through¬ 
out  the  dark  days  of  medievalism,  have  lost  their  virtue 
in  these  days  of  assimilation  and  social  struggle  :  fewer 
marriages  take  place  and  fewer  children  are  born  relatively 
among  the  Jews  than  among  the  nations  around  them,  and 
thus  they  form  a  steadily  declining  proportion  in  nearly 
every  country  and  present  an  easier  prey  to  the  forces  of 
dissolution. 

True,  the  Western  lands  are  constantly  receiving  hosts 
of  immigrants  from  the  East,  who  are  still  more  or  less 
attached  to  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the  past,  and 
who  may  be  expected  to  exercise  a  counteracting  influence 
and  to  fill  up  the  gaps  created  by  native  losses.  But  the 
faith  of  these  Eastern  immigrants  is  also  not  as  strong 
and  immutable  as  in  the  days  of  yore  :  the  ferment  of  the 
Russian  Revolution  has  stirred  the  Jewish  mind  to  its 
depths,  and  Yiddish  literature,  once  confined  to  homely 
ballads  and  sentimental  novels,  has  been  invaded  by  trans¬ 
lations  of  the  works  of  all  the  realistic  writers  of  modern 
times — Zola,  Ibsen,  Tolstoi,  De  Maupassant — and  by  the 
revolutionary  ideas  of  all  rationalist  thinkers.  Thus,  the 
intellectual  assimilation  that  has  already  advanced  so  far 
in  the  West  is  also  penetrating  more  and  more  into  the 
orthodox  strongholds  of  the  East,  as  proof  of  which  the 
epidemic  of  apostasy  that  has  been  spreading  among  the 
younger  generation  of  Russian  J ews  in  quest  of  an  academic 
or  professional  career,  or  simply  because  of  their  longing 
to  live  outside  the  Pale,  is  convincing  enough.  And  even 
those  who  have  successfully  resisted  the  influence  of 
assimilation  at  home  in  the  East,  where  they  live  in  a 
purely  Jewish  environment,  are  able  to  offer  less  resistance 
in  the  maelstrom  of  the  West,  where  they  are  exposed  to  a 
thousand  subtle  currents  that  sweep  them  away  from  their 
ancient  moorings  ;  whilst  their  children  offer  no  resistance 
at  all  and  are  rapidly  assimilated  in  habit  and  appearance, 
in  thought  and  language,  to  the  predominant  type.  More¬ 
over,  even  among  the  seven  million  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe 
and  the  Orient  modern  education  is  being  fostered  more 
and  more  assiduously,  and  its  effects  are  bound  to  be  the 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


3L5 


same  as  among  the  Jews  in  the  West.  Such  then  are  the 
main  forces  of  dissolution  that  are  at  work. 

What  now  are  the  forces  of  conservation  ?  Anti- 
Semitism  has  always  been  advanced  as  one  of  the  great 
mainstays  of  Jewry,  for  it  is  believed  to  quicken  the  racial 
consciousness  even  in  the  slumbering  soul  of  the  most 
indifferent  and  to  rally  every  community  to  measures  of 
self-protection.  If  such  were  indeed  its  effect,  and  if  it 
were  produced  everywhere  unfailingly,  it  might  in  truth 
be  claimed  as  an  auxiliary,  however  unworthy,  of  the 
Jewish  survival  :  for  it  is  rampant  over  the  greater  area 
of  the  Jewish  world,  Protean  in  its  forms,  diabolical  in  its 
ingenuity,  ruthless  in  its  assault,  the  offspring  of  ignorance, 
envy,  and  traditional  superstitions.  The  denial  of  ele¬ 
mentary  human  rights  in  Russia,  outlawry  unashamed  in 
Rumania,  exclusion  from  Government  service  in  Germany 
and  Austria  and  from  clubs  and  hotels  in  America  :  these 
are  but  a  few  of  the  forms  of  Anti-Semitism,  which  has 
now  ventured  to  raise  its  serpent  head  in  England  1 — “  the 
land  of  the  free  ” — and  even  in  Canada,  so  young  in  develop¬ 
ment  yet  already  endowed  with  this  saturnine  product  of 
civilization.  Anti-Semitism  dogs  the  footsteps  of  the  Jew 
in  every  land,  in  free  republics  as  in  despotic  monarchies  ; 
it  has  no  respect  for  rank  or  class  and  makes  no  distinction 
between  the  religious  and  the  non-religious  Jew  ;  it  assails 
the  Jewish  politician  and  author  equally  with  the  Jewish 
artisan  and  pedlar  ;  it  finds  ever  new  objects  of  accusa¬ 
tion,  that  the  Jews,  on  the  one  hand,  are  too  rich  and  live 
too  luxuriously,  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  they  are  too 
poor  and  lower  the  standard  of  life  in  their  adopted  country  : 
that,  on  the  one  hand,  they  are  too  clever,  and  will  capture 
the  entire  State  if  they  are  not  restrained,  and  that,  on 
the  other  hand,  they  are  illiterate  and  must  be  denied  the 
right  of  asylum.  Whatever  virtue  the  J ew  has  is  stigmatized 
as  a  vice,  whatever  failing  he  has — the  product  of  centuries 
of  oppression — is  exaggerated  as  a  crime.  On  the  one 

1  This  has  been  admitted  even  by  the  Spectator  (in  the  course  of  a 
review  of  I.  Balia's  Romance  of  the  Rothschilds,  1st  February  1913);  “In 
England  we  trace  signs  that  Anti-Semitism  is  raising  its  head  after  having 
been  almost  non-existent  for  many  generations." 


316  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


hand,  he  is  upbraided  because  he  holds  aloof  and  does  not 
intermarry  with  his  Christian  neighbours  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  he  is  told  that  he  comes  of  an  inferior  stock  and  is 
not  wanted.  The  rich  Jews  do,  indeed,  intermarry  with 
their  neighbours  and  are  welcomed  for  their  wealth  ;  it  is 
the  poor  who  do  not,  and  who  are  attacked  on  other 
grounds.  Manifold  as  the  manifestations  of  Anti-Semitism 
are,  prevailing  alike  in  political  and  social  life,  in  business 
and  in  literature,  among  blue-blooded  aristocrats  and  slave- 
driven  factory-hands,  it  reveals  one  unifying  factor — the 
elemental  hatred  of  the  Jew.  And  yet  despite  this  hatred, 
varying  in  form  from  a  comic  caricature  to  a  bloodthirsty 
pogrom,  the  Jew  is  not  everywhere  stung  by  it  to  a  sense 
of  national  pride,  to  an  attitude  of  self-defence.  What  is 
more  striking  than  the  vast  spread  of  apostasy  and  mixed 
marriages  in  the  very  lands,  Germany  and  Austria,  where 
Anti-Semitism  is  most  rampant  and  provides  a  plank  for 
political  parties  ?  The  very  contempt  of  the  Jew  dis¬ 
played  by  his  intolerant  neighbour  has  made  many  a 
weakling  bend  his  back  to  the  storm — and  turn  his  feet 
to  the  baptismal  font ;  and  yet  the  converted  Jew,  be  he 
never  so  diligent  in  church  attendance,  is  not  less  subject 
to  scorn  than  before,  for  his  baptismal  certificate  cannot 
convert  his  physiognomy  and  merely  advertises  his  hypoc¬ 
risy.  What  more  telling  proof  of  the  inadequacy  of  Anti- 
Semitism  as  a  bulwark  of  Judaism  than  the  Dreyfus  affair 
or  the  Russian  pogroms  ?  Never  had  Republican  France 
been  so  stirred  to  its  depths  as  by  the  internecine  contro¬ 
versy  aroused  by  the  fictitious  charges  against  the  Jewish 
captain,  and  yet  the  moribund  condition  of  French  Jewry 
received  not  a  single  quickening  impulse  and  would  even 
now  have  sunk  into  further  decay  but  for  the  vivifying 
stream  of  immigration  from  Eastern  Europe.  And  the 
Russian  pogroms,  which  aroused  the  Jews  all  over  the 
world  to  an  unparalleled  display  of  solidarity  and  self- 
help,  have  become  a  mere  memory  even  among  the  Russian 
Jews  themselves,  among  whom  apostasy  was  never  so  rife 
or  so  lightly  judged  as  at  the  present  day.  No,  Anti- 
Semitism  cannot  be  reckoned  as  a  conserving  force  in 
Jewry  :  even  in  its  extremest  phase  it  only  causes  a 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


3i7 


temporary  outburst  of  racial  indignation,  but  the  individual 
Jew  goes  on  his  own  way,  moulded  by  the  immediate 
forces  around  him — social,  economic,  and  intellectual — 
and  is  slowly  absorbed  by  his  environment. 

Are  there,  then,  no  positive  conserving  forces  in  Jewry 
itself  ?  Has  it  not  a  multitude  of  organized  communities 
with  institutions  of  every  kind,  social  and  intellectual, 
religious  and  philanthropic  ;  is  it  not  endowed  with  a 
vigorous  pulsating  life  ?  A  consideration  of  the  functions 
of  these  various  institutions  will  suffice  to  show  how  con¬ 
ditional  they  are  in  their  existence  and  how  limited  in 
their  sphere  of  influence.  The  synagogue  has  lost  the 
power  it  wielded  even  fifty  years  ago  and  in  this  age  of 
rationalism  is  never  likely  to  regain  it ;  and  the  allied 
institutions  of  the  Beth  Hamidrash  (“  House  of  Study  ”)  and 
religion  classes  are  also  decliningin  importance.  In  Germany 
and  in  Italy  more  than  one  little  community  in  recent 
years  has  died  out  and  its  synagogue  closed  through  the 
migration  of  its  members  to  larger  towns,  where  they  are 
exposed  to  the  forces  of  assimilation  more  fully  than  in 
their  previous  homes.  The  specifically  social  organiza¬ 
tions,  clubs,  institutes,  friendly  societies,  are  cultivated 
mainly  by  the  immigrant  classes  and  by  their  children  ; 
but  it  is  the  ambition  of  most  Jews  in  England  and  America 
to  belong  to  non- Jewish  clubs,  whether  of  a  social,  pro¬ 
fessional,  or  political  character.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
literary  and  historical  societies,  which  serve,  it  is  true,  to 
promote  an  interest  in  the  literature,  history,  and  general 
conditions  of  the  Jewish  people  and  to  keep  alive  the 
historic  consciousness  ;  but  it  is  a  matter  of  common 
knowledge  that  these  societies  do  not  exercise  half  as  strong 
a  spell  as  those  devoted  to  social  amusement,  and  in  any 
case  their  activity  is  almost  wholly  concentrated  on  the 
past  and  fails  to  build  up  anything  for  the  future.  There 
is  a  still  greater  number  of  philanthropic  societies,  ranging 
from  the  powerful  Jewish  Colonization  Association  to  a 
small  local  "  bread,  meat,  and  coal  society/’  which  stimulate 
the  sentiment  of  solidarity  ;  but  the  activity  of  these 
societies  is  simply  based  upon  the  poverty  and  persecution 
of  the  great  mass  of  Jewry,  which  are  unfortunately  likely 


3i 8  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


to  continue  for  a  great  length  of  time,  but  which,  according 
to  all  reasonable  calculation,  will  diminish  in  the  course  of 
future  decades.  The  immense  flood  of  emigration  that 
pours  forth  ceaselessly  from  Eastern  Europe  lessens  the 
gravity  of  the  task  for  philanthropic  organizations,  for 
even  though  the  newcomers  in  the  Western  lands  demand 
assistance  in  the  early  period  of  their  settlement  they  soon 
succeed  in  earning  a  living  and  shift  for  themselves. 

The  key  to  a  great  part  of  the  question  is  the  situation 
in  Russia  and  its  future.  Little  do  the  rulers  of  that  Empire 
dream,  in  their  insensate  policy  of  persecution,  that  the  best 
method  to  rid  themselves  of  the  J ews,  which  they  so  heartily 
desire,  would  be  to  abolish  the  Pale  and  give  its  inhabitants 
absolute  freedom.  For  then  the  Jews  would  gradually  dis¬ 
tribute  themselves  over  the  vast  tracts  of  the  Empire  and 
become,  like  their  brethren  in  the  West,  a  ready  prey  to  the 
forces  of  assimilation.  Even  in  their  bondage,  and  with 
the  limited  opportunities  of  social  and  intellectual  inter¬ 
course  that  they  have  with  their  neighbours,  the  Russian 
Jews  are  already  displaying  a  notable  degree  of  assimilation : 
how  much  more  rapid  would  this  process  be  when  they 
attain  complete  liberty  !  Whether  the  hour  of  their  eman¬ 
cipation  will  strike  within  the  next  twenty  or  the  next  fifty 
years  is  a  matter  that,  after  the  collapse  of  the  Revolu¬ 
tion  of  1905,  nobody  can  safely  prophesy.1  But  sooner  or 
later  their  freedom  is  bound  to  come.  In  an  age  when 
absolutist  monarchies  like  Turkey  and  Persia  can  be  con¬ 
verted  into  constitutional  states  with  representative  govern¬ 
ment,  and  when  the  hoary  Celestial  Empire  can  be  rejuven¬ 
ated  into  a  republic,  the  liberation  of  the  Jews  from  the 
Russian  yoke — and  from  the  Rumanian  too — must  be 
within  the  realm  of  practical  politics.  And  then,  when  that 
blessed  day  dawns  and  the  down- trodden  Jews  of  former 
days  no  longer  need  the  help  and  intervention  of  their 
Western  brethren,  when  massacres  will  become  a  mere 
memory,  and  the  “  ritual  murder”  myth  will  be  derided 
even  by  children,  and  the  economic  boycott  will  be  for¬ 
gotten,  and  the  zone  of  poverty  will  shrink,  and  when,  too, 
the  Russian  passport  question  will  be  satisfactorily  settled, 

1  See  note  on  p.  326. 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


3i9 


and  the  foreign  Jew  will  not  need  to  present  a  baptismal 
certificate  at  the  Russian  frontier  :  what  will  remain  for 
the  philanthropic  and  quasi-political  organizations  to  do  ? 
At  present  their  work  consists  in  making  good  the  damage 
wrought  by  others,  in  repairing  the  breaches  in  the  fabric 
of  Jewry  ;  but  when  there  are  no  longer  any  breaches  their 
function  must  cease  or  at  any  rate  decline.  One  of  the  great 
motor-forces  in  the  conservation  of  Western  Jewry  will  thus 
cease  to  operate,  and  its  power  of  survival  will  correspond¬ 
ingly  abate.  And  as  for  Eastern  Jewry,  although  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  hope  that  the  statute  book  which  will  give  them 
their  liberty  can  give  their  neighbours  a  new  heart, — any 
more  than  the  enunciation  of  the  principles  of  liberty, 
equality,  and  fraternity  enshrined  in  the  French  Constitu¬ 
tion  could  make  the  Frenchman  look  upon  the  Jew  as  his 
brother, — such  social  hostility  as  continues  to  prevail  will 
only  have  the  same  modified  influence  as  Anti-Semitism 
in  Germany,  where  it  is  altogether  ineffectual  in  preventing 
assimilation. 

The  fundamental  causes  that  have  wrought  the  assimi¬ 
lation  of  Jewry  and  are  destined  in  the  normal  course  to 
further  its  disintegration,  are  the  lack  of  a  national  terri¬ 
tory  and  the  loss  of  religious  faith.  The  restitution  of 
either  of  these  factors  would  provide  a  powerful  bulwark 
against  further  dissolution  and  a  guarantee  for  the  pro¬ 
longation  of  Jewish  life.  But  to  hope  for  a  restoration  of 
religious  faith,  and  above  all  for  a  revival  of  ritual  observ¬ 
ance  as  practised  throughout  the  centuries,  is  to  misread 
all  the  signs  of  the  present  age,  with  the  usurpation  of 
religious  authority  by  science  and  the  supersession  of 
theological  dogmas  by  ethical  ideals.  We  must,  therefore, 
dismiss  the  possibility  of  a  religious  revival,  which  is  pre¬ 
cluded,  moreover,  by  the  very  environment  of  the  Jew  ; 
and  in  any  case,  even  if  it  were  possible,  it  would  only  be 
confined  to  a  few  rare  spirits  and  could  only  affect  their 
spiritual  lives  without  having  any  permanent  fertilizing 
influence  upon  their  intellectual  activity.  Hence  the 
only  possible  remedy  for  the  present  dissolution,  the  only 
effective  check  to  increasing  disintegration,  is  to  obtain  the 
restoration  of  a  national  territory. 


320 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


But  here  the  question  may  arise  :  Cui  bono  ?  If,  it  is 
argued  by  some,  the  Jewish  people  shows  such  numerous 
and  widespread  symptoms  of  decay,  why  should  it  be 
preserved  ?  Why  not  let  it  decay  ?  The  answer  is  that 
the  decay  is  not  the  fault  of  the  Jews,  but  their  mis¬ 
fortune,  the  inevitable  product  of  their  anomalous  position 
— their  exile.  And  further,  why  should  the  Jews  have 
to  justify  their  existence  ?  Is  any  other  nation  called 
upon  to  justify  its  existence  ?  Were  the  Albanians,  who 
are  now  rejoicing  in  their  newly- won  independence,  called 
upon  to  justify  their  demand  for  national  conservation  ? 
And  yet  the  Albanians,  with  all  due  respect  for  whatever 
they  may  have  contributed  to  the  culture  and  betterment 
of  the  world,  cannot  be  compared  with  the  Jews  who  have 
wrought  so  much.  But  they  have  one  important  advan¬ 
tage  :  they  have  a  land  of  their  own,  and  that  is  sufficient 
to  sweep  aside  all  objections.  The  Jews,  however,  have 
a  noble  past,  chequered  with  suffering  yet  rich  in  achieve¬ 
ment,  whose  claim  to  national  conservation  is  certainly  not 
less  weighty  or  worthy  than  that  of  the  Albanians,  the 
Serbs,  or  the  Bulgarians. 

There  is,  it  is  true,  a  school  of  thought  in  Jewry  which 
maintains  that  the  Jews  are  not  a  nation  but  only  a  religious 
community,  but  this  view  is  little  more  than  a  century  old, 
for  it  was  propounded  by  Moses  Mendelssohn  to  justify  the 
claims  of  the  Jews  to  political  emancipation.  But  a  people 
that,  though  scattered  for  nearly  twenty  centuries,  is  bound 
together  not  only  by  the  ties  of  faith  but  by  common  racial 
descent,  by  a  common  historical  development,  by  a  common 
and  continuous  literature,  by  a  common  language,  by 
common  sufferings  and  hopes,  and  which,  even  in  its  present 
unparalleled  dispersion,  has  such  a  host  of  social,  intellectual, 
economic,  and  philanthropic  institutions,  which  subserve 
no  sectarian  purpose  whatever,  can  justly  regard  itself 
as  a  nation  even  though  it  has  no  land  of  its  own.  It  was 
as  a  nation  that  the  Jews  always  regarded  themselves  from 
the  first  day  of  their  exile — as  a  nation  in  exile ;  as  such 
they  are  officially  treated  in  Turkey  at  the  present  day ;  and 
as  such  alone  can  they  be  understood  aright.  What  a  pitiful 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


321 


delusion  was  cherished  by  the  myriads  of  martyrs  through¬ 
out  the  Middle  Ages  if  Israel  were  now  content  to  be  written 
down  as  a  mere  sect  and  to  be  wiped  off  the  roll  of  the 
nations !  What  a  waste  of  blood,  of  hope,  and  of  prayer, 
if  the  ideal  of  national  restoration  were  now  surrendered  as 
a  mere  fable  !  There  are  indeed  some  who  are  content  to 
abandon  this  ideal  :  those  who  call  themselves  English¬ 
men,  Frenchmen,  or  Germans  of  “  the  Jewish  persuasion,” 
but  these  selfsame  Jews  who  maintain  that  they  form 
a  religious  community  are  characterized,  as  a  rule,  by 
very  little  religion.  They  declare  that  the  Jews  were 
dispersed  and  must  remain  dispersed  to  fulfil  a  spiritual 
mission  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  Will,  but  they 
are  blind  to  all  the  signs  of  the  times — that  the  lands  in 
which  the  Jews  are  most  faithful  to  their  traditions 
treat  them  with  the  greatest  cruelty,  and  that  so  far  are 
the  Jews  in  other  lands  from  spreading  their  mission  that 
they  themselves  succumb  to  the  mission  propagated  by 
Christianity  and  desert  the  fold  in  ever-increasing  numbers 
year  by  year.  But  those  who  believe  in  the  nationality  of 
their  people  must  devise  a  method  for  perpetuating  it  upon 
a  territory  of  its  own.  The  mere  desire  for  its  continuance  is 
a  motive  sufficient  in  itself,  but  when  this  motive  is  blended 
with  a  pride  in  the  ethical  ideals  of  Judaism  and  a  confidence 
in  the  high  intellectual  capacity  and  productivity  of  the 
Jews,  then  one  has  indeed  a  splendid  stimulus  to  achieve 
a  great  ideal. 

The  settlement  of  the  Jews  upon  a  territory  of  their 
own  must,  however,  fulfil  certain  essential  conditions  if 
it  is  to  provide  the  firm  basis  of  a  healthy  development 
of  national  life.  The  first  is  an  economic  condition  :  the 
economic  life  in  the  national  centre  must  be  self-contained 
in  order  that  the  people  may  be  able  to  develop  as  naturally 
and  as  fully  as  every  other  nation,  that  each  individual 
may  be  able  to  follow  his  own  bent  and  pursue  the  vocation 
for  which  he  is  best  fitted,  and  that  the  commonwealth 
may  be  able  to  order  and  regulate  its  social  life  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  its  own  traditions  and  predilections  and  without 
regard  to  the  wishes  and  customs  of  others.  The  basis 
21 


322 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


of  such  a  self-contained  economic  life  must  be  agriculture, 
not  only  because  a  nation  has  the  surest  guarantee  of 
permanence  if  it  can  satisfy  its  own  bodily  wants,  but 
also  because  the  class  that  is  most  closely  attached  to 
the  soil  consists  of  the  farmers  and  peasants.  The  artisan 
can  pack  up  his  tools  at  any  moment  and  migrate  to 
another  land  with  a  good  prospect  of  finding  employ¬ 
ment  ;  the  professional  man — doctor,  author,  or  artist 
— can  also  easily  change  the  scene  of  his  activity 
with  little  compunction  and  with  little  fear  of  incurring 
any  ultimate  loss  ;  but  the  peasant  who  is  born  and 
reared  on  the  soil  is  attached  to  it  with  an  elemental 
love,  and  if  in  addition  to  a  contented  living  he  has 
a  material  interest  in  the  soil  that  he  cultivates,  he  cannot 
easily  drag  himself  away  from  his  peaceful  farmstead  to 
an  unknown  clime.  It  is  significant  that  of  all  the  occupa¬ 
tions  of  Russian  Jewry  comprised  among  the  emigrants  to 
America  agriculture  is  represented  by  the  smallest  per¬ 
centage  ;  and  that  the  Jews  can  successfully  adapt  them¬ 
selves  to  agriculture  has  been  abundantly  proved  by  the 
numerous  farm-settlements  in  Russia  and  America,  not  to 
speak  of  Palestine. 

The  second  essential  condition  is  of  an  intellectual 
nature  :  the  nation  must  have  its  own  language  and, 
as  a  natural  corollary,  its  own  educational  system.  Dis¬ 
persed  as  the  Jews  are  at  present,  they  speak  in  many 
tongues  ;  but  united  in  a  land  of  their  own,  they  must  be 
linked  together  by  a  common  tongue,  not  only  that  they 
may  understand  one  another,  but  in  order  that  their  life 
may  have  a  distinctive  national  impress,  a  soul  of  its 
own,  through  which  its  spiritual  strivings  and  literary 
creations  may  find  a  common  medium  of  expression. 
What  this  language  should  be  admits  of  no  question  : 
it  must  be  the  language  through  which  the  soul  of  the 
people  found  expression  when  it  formerly  lived  as  a  nation 
on  its  own  soil  and  which  has  never  ceased  to  be  uttered 
by  Jewish  lips  throughout  the  centuries  of  exile.  Yiddish 
is  spoken  only  by  half — at  the  most — of  the  J ewish  people ; 
it  is  disowned  and  despised  by  those  in  the  West  and  is 
a  strange  language  to  those  in  the  Orient;  and  besides, 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


323 


it  is  built  up  on  an  alien  foundation — mediaeval  German — 
and  has  a  loose  grammar  and  inexact  orthography.  But 
Hebrew  has  a  fixed  and  elaborate  grammatical  system  ; 
it  is  the  language  of  the  greatest  book  in  the  world,  the 
Bible;  it  is  the  vehicle  of  a  continuous  Jewish  literature 
down  to  the  present  day,  and  it  is  capable  of  answering 
all  the  requirements  of  a  modern  cultivated  speech  in  the 
various  spheres  of  science  and  invention,  art  and  philosophy, 
economics  and  politics,  as  is  amply  shown  by  the  recent 
revival  of  Hebrew  in  Palestine.  That  the  people  must  also 
have  its  own  educational  system  is  an  inevitable  corollary  of 
the  freedom  necessary  for  the  use  and  growth  of  its  lan¬ 
guage  ;  and  besides,  it  is  in  the  schools  that  the  foundations 
of  national  culture  are  laid,  and  a  people  without  a  specific 
culture  of  its  own  is  only  the  shadow  of  a  nation.  It  is, 
of  course,  impossible  to  create  a  brand-new  J ewish  culture, 
nor  is  there  any  such  desire  ;  the  main  elements  of  culture 
are  common  to  all  civilized  countries  and  they  will  also 
be  contained  in  the  culture  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth, 
where,  however,  they  will  be  fused  with  Jewish  ideas  and 
traditions  and  quickened  by  a  specific  intellectual  outlook 
born  of  the  soil.  That  such  a  process  is  conceivable  and 
natural  is  illustrated  by  the  history  of  the  English  people 
itself,  in  whose  early  development  alien  influences  were  so 
strong  that  French  was  the  language  of  the  courts  and  the 
schools  till  as  late  as  1362.  Visionaries  may  demand  the 
levelling  of  all  national  differences  and  decry  the  fostering  of 
yet  another  culture  ;  but  as  long  as  nations  are  divided  by 
mountains  and  seas  such  differences  will  remain,  and  the 
culture  of  mankind  is  all  the  richer  by  virtue  of  its  variety. 
The  culture  of  the  new  Judaea,  moreover,  will  not  be  antag¬ 
onistic  to  European  culture,  but  a  vital  part  of  it,  produced 
under  the  influence  of  Jewish  ideas,  in  the  normal  course 
of  national  development,  on  a  Jewish  soil. 

A  third  essential  condition  is  of  a  physical  nature  :  the 
national  settlement  must  consist  of  a  compact  concentra¬ 
tion  of  Jews  both  in  town  and  country.  The  prime 
source  of  present-day  assimilation  consists  in  the  fact 
that  the  Jews  constitute  a  minority  in  all  the  lands  of 
their  dispersion  :  they  are  thus  subjected  to  influences 


324 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


stronger  than  themselves  and  are  easily  and  involuntarily 
adapted,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  the  predominant  type. 
Such  a  possibility  must  be  eliminated  from  the  land  in 
which  Jews  are  to  develop  a  national  life,  and  hence  they 
must  there  constitute  the  majority.  This  condition  is 
impracticable  at  the  outset  except  in  utterly  uninhabited 
countries,  but  it  must  be  striven  after  zealously  and 
systematically  if  J ewish  national  life  is  to  become  a  reality. 
For  with  a  majority  in  the  towns  and  in  the  country  places 
the  Jews  will  not  only  form  the  dominating  social  element 
and  impress  their  own  characteristics  upon  their  environ¬ 
ment,  they  will  not  only  provide  the  Jewish  milieu  in 
which  alone  works  of  art  reflecting  the  Jewish  genius 
can  come  into  being,  and  in  which  the  laws  and  customs 
of  their  faith  can  be  observed  unhindered,  but  they  will 
also  automatically  secure  the  administration  of  these 
localities  into  their  own  hands  and  thus  assure  for  them¬ 
selves  freedom  of  development  in  every  direction. 

Which  is  the  land  that  can  fulfil  all  these  conditions  ? 
The  East  European  region,  which  has  been  the  home  of 
millions  of  Jews,  has  itself  been  suggested  as  the  best 
nucleus  of  a  Jewish  national  centre,  because  it  already 
has  a  Jewish  language  and  has  preserved  intact  traditional 
Jewish  culture.  But  the  objections  to  such  a  plan  are 
that  the  Jews  both  in  Russia  and  Rumania  are  excluded 
from  the  land  and  would  be  without  an  agricultural  basis  ; 
that  the  region  itself  is  becoming  industrialized  ;  that 
its  culture  would  be  subject  to  the  influences  of  Polish  or 
German  culture  ;  and,  what  is  most  important  of  all, 
that  Jews  in  other  parts  of  the  world  would  never  ac¬ 
knowledge  allegiance  to  such  a  centre,  as  it  would  have 
neither  historical  nor  moral  claim  to  recognition. 

A  second  proposal  is  that  a  colony  should  be  established 
in  some  uninhabited  part  of  the  world,  where  the  Jews 
from  the  outset  should  be  given  local  autonomy.  This 
is  the  principle  of  the  Jewish  Territorial  Organization, 
founded  by  Mr.  Israel  Zangwill  during  the  days  of  the 
Zionist  Congress  of  1905,  which  declined  the  offer  of  the 
British  Government  of  a  territory  in  East  Africa.  The 
Territorial  Organization  has  conducted  negotiations  with 


ASSIMILATION  OR  CONSERVATION 


325 


various  Governments  and  carried  out  a  scientific  ex¬ 
ploration  of  Cyrenaica,  which  was  found  unfit  for  settle¬ 
ment  on  account  of  deficient  water,  and  also  of  Angola, 
as  to  the  fitness  of  which  the  members  of  the  scientific 
commission  themselves  differed.  So  far  the  “  ITO”  (as  the 
Jewish  Territorial  Organization,  from  its  initials,  iscommonly 
called),  although  formed  to  obtain  an  immediate  asylum  for 
the  J ews  owing  to  the  slow  progress  of  settlement  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  has  not,  after  nine  years  of  persistent  search,  turned  the 
first  sod  of  its  projected  colony,  nor  is  there  much  prospect 
that  such  a  colony  will  ever  become  a  reality  ;  for  the 
only  appeal,  or  the  strongest  appeal,  that  it  could  make 
to  the  oppressed  Jews  of  the  East  is  that  of  an  economic 
nature,  and  they  can  satisfy  their  economic  wants  much 
more  readily  by  emigration  to  America  than  by  settling 
in  a  strange,  uninhabited  region,  where  they  would  have 
to  endure  much  privation  in  the  early  period,  for  which 
they  could  find  no  compensation  in  a  sentimental  attach¬ 
ment.1  Moreover,  such  a  settlement  could  produce  no 
truly  national  Jewish  culture,  for  it  would  be  populated, 
according  to  all  reasonable  calculations,  solely  by  East 
European  Jews  of  the  proletarian  class,  who  might  succeed 
with  external  aid  in  carrying  on  a  comfortable  community, 
but  who,  by  reason  of  the  concessions  they  would  have  to 
make  in  their  dealings  with  the  outside  world,  could  not 
foster  a  language  of  their  own  or  produce  a  literature 
worthy  of  the  name. 

The  only  territory  upon  which  all  the  specified  con¬ 
ditions  of  a  successful  national  settlement  can  be  fulfilled 
is  the  land  advocated  by  Zionism — Palestine.  Here  a  self- . 
contained  economic  life  with  an  agricultural  basis  can  be 
established  ;  here  Hebrew  can  be  fostered  as  the  national 
language  and  Jewish  schools  can  be  built  ;  and  here  the 
Jews  can  live  in  a  compact  mass  in  the  various  towns  and 
rural  settlements.  But,  above  and  beyond  all  these  ad¬ 
vantages,  Palestine  is  the  land  where  the  Jewish  nation 

1  A  member  of  the  executive  of  the  “  ITO"  and  one  of  its  founders, 
Dr.  I.  A.  Stein,  of  Elizabethgrad,  has,  after  a  recent  tour  of  Palestine, 
advocated  that  the  colonization  of  Palestine  should  be  placed  “in  the 
forefront  of  the  ‘ITO’  programme"  (Jewish  Chronicle,  8th  May  1914)- 


326 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


grew  up,  where  its  prophets  spoke  and  its  psalmists  sang, 
where  its  sacred  literature  was  written,  its  ethical  ideals 
were  formed,  its  spiritual  treasures  were  fashioned  :  the 
land  to  which  the  heart  of  the  J  ew  was  turned  throughout 
the  long  centuries  of  suffering  in  exile.  What  is  more 
natural  than  that  the  land  of  the  Jewish  past  should  be 
made  the  land  of  the  Jewish  future  ?  Whether  the  process 
is  practicable,  and  to  what  extent  it  may  succeed,  are 
matters  that  depend  upon  the  Jewish  people  itself,  but 
already  sufficient  has  been  accomplished  within  a  short  time 
to  justify  the  best  hopes  for  the  future.  The  support  so 
far  given  to  Zionism  has  come  from  a  very  small  minority, 
and  the  number  of  Jews  so  far  settled  in  the  country 
hardly  exceeds  100,000.  The  ultimate  realization  of 
Zionism  may  take  many  decades,  and  even  at  the  best,  even 
if  Palestine  contained  three  to  four  million  Jews,  these 
would  form  a  minority  of  the  Jewish  people.  But  it  would 
be  a  vigorous  minority,  pulsating  with  national  life,  and 
capable  of  communicating  a  vivifying  influence  to  the 
communities  that  remained  scattered  all  over  the  globe. 

The  Jews  in  Russia. — Note  to  pp.  156  and  318. 

The  persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Russia  has  greatly  increased  in  extent 
and  severity  during  the  last  two  years.  In  1913  alone,  over  10,000  Jews 
were  expelled  from  various  towns  outside  the  Pale  and  from  Polish 
villages,  in  which,  in  many  cases,  they  had  been  settled  over  thirty  years. 
In  1912,  of  3000  Jewish  students  who  applied  for  admission  to  the 
universities  and  technical  colleges,  only  350  were  admitted  ;  and  in 
1913,  of  3908  who  applied  only  162  were  admitted  ( Hilfsverein  Report, 
1914).  The  most  serious  addition  to  the  code  of  disabilities  is  the  recent 
law  which  prohibits  Jews  to  sit  on  the  boards  of  joint  stock  companies 
and  forbids  such  companies  as  have  Jewish  directors  to  acquire  lands. 
This  reactionary  measure  produced  a  veritable  panic  in  the  Russian 
financial  world.  The  Times  (5th  June  1914)  stigmatized  the  measure  as 
“  grotesque,”  but  it  justified  the  general  disabilities  of  the  Jews  on  the 
ground  that  the  Jews  were  engaged  in  “peddling,  liquor-dealing,  and 
money-lending,”  and  that  if  they  were  free  to  trade  among  the  peasants 
they  would  soon  “  ‘  eat  up  ’  the  tillers  of  the  soil.”  The  fact  is,  two-fifths 
of  the  Jews  are  engaged  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  pursuits  ; 
liquor-dealing  is  a  monopoly  of  the  Government  ;  and  the  mass  of  the 
Jews  are  too  poor  to  have  any  money  to  lend.  Even  if  there  were  a  shred 
of  substance  in  the  allegation  of  the  Times,  it  cannot  justify  the  mass  of 
anti- Jewish  restrictions  that  embitter  the  lives  of  artisans  and  persons 
engaged  in  the  liberal  professions,  nor  the  impending  banishment  of 
40,000  Jews  from  Kiev  ( Russische  Korrespondenz,  18th  July  1914). 


CHAPTER  II 


ZIONISM 

The  aims  of  Zionism — Precursors  of  Zionism — The  founding  of 
the  Zionist  Organization — Influence  of  Zionism  upon  Jewish  life — 
The  institutions  of  Zionism — The  colonizing  of  Palestine  :  intro¬ 
duction  of  credit — Promotion  of  agriculture — Improvement  of 
farming  methods — Promotion  of  urban  colonization  :  industrial 
crafts — Housing  and  sanitation  improvements — Education  and 
culture  upon  a  Hebrew  basis — The  political  aspect — Relations  with 
the  native  population — The  general  outlook 

ZIONISM  is  the  name  of  the  movement  which  aimsat 
the  restoration  of  Jewish  national  life  in  Palestine. 
It  is  based  upon  the  conviction  that  the  Jews  are  a 
nation,  that  they  can  best  fulfil  their  destiny  by  reviving 
their  corporate  life  upon  a  national  basis  in  their  ancestral 
country,  and  that  only  by  this  means  can  they  preserve 
J ewry  from  the  forces  of  disintegration  to  which  it  is  now 
exposed  and  secure  its  permanent  and  progressive  develop¬ 
ment.  It  represents  the  first  organized  endeavour  of  the 
Jewish  people  since  its  banishment  from  Palestine  nearly 
two  thousand  years  ago  to  put  an  end  to  its  alternating  lot  of 
oppression,  tolerance,  or  fatal  drift,  by  acquiring  the  status 
and  dignity  of  a  nation  in  the  land  in  which  its  national 
life  first  came  into  being.  Its  adherents  are  spread  far  and 
wide,  in  the  East  and  the  West,  in  the  Old  World  and  in 
the  New,  in  the  lands  of  absolute  freedom  as  in  those  of 
unmitigated  bondage  ;  and  they  are  knit  together  in  a 
democratic  organization  which  at  periodical  Congresses 
shapes  the  policy  and  determines  the  practical  measures 
of  the  movement.  But  whilst  it  receives  its  impetus 
from  the  present,  it  draws  its  inspiration  from  the  past, 

for  Zionism  represents  in  modern  form  that  traditional  love 

327 


328 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


of  Zion  which  animated  the  Jew  throughout  the  centuries, 
the  hope  in  the  ingathering  of  Israel  in  the  Holy  Land  which 
soothed  the  sufferings  of  exile.  For  nearly  two  thousand 
years  the  sentiment  found  expression  merely  in  a  religious 
form — in  prayers  and  pilgrimages — whilst  ever  and  again, 
in  the  gloom  of  the  Middle  Ages,  it  was  fanned  into  flame 
by  a  false  Messiah  who  heralded  the  return  to  Zion,  and 
then  abandoned  his  deluded  followers  to  despair.  Not  until 
the  nineteenth  century  was  any  energetic  desire  evinced  to 
convert  the  prayer  into  practice,  the  idea  into  a  reality. 
Formerly  the  Jews  went  to  Palestine  to  die  :  now  they 
go  there  to  live. 

The  advocacy  of  the  colonization  of  Palestine  as  the 
only  solution  of  the  Jewish  question  was  made  as  early 
as  1818  by  Mordecai  Manuel  Noah  in  America,  and  was 
repeated  in  different  countries  at  intervals  throughout 
the  century.  In  France  it  was  urged  in  1830  by  the 
historian,  Joseph  Salvador ;  in  Germany,  in  1862,  in¬ 
dependently  by  Moses  Hess  in  his  Rome  and  Jerusalem, 
and  by  Hirsch  Kalischer  in  his  Quest  of  Zion,  the  one  a 
Socialist,  the  other  an  orthodox  Rabbi ;  in  England,  in 
1876,  by  George  Eliot  in  her  famous  novel  Daniel  Deronda  ; 
and  in  Russia,  in  1880,  by  the  Hebrew  writers  Moses 
Lilienblum  and  Perez  Smolenskin,  and  soon  after  by  Leon 
Pinsker  too,  who,  in  his  historic  pamphlet  Auto-Emancipa¬ 
tion,  eloquently  argued  that  the  settlement  of  the  J ews  in  a 
land  of  their  own  was  the  only  salvation  from  their  suffer¬ 
ings,  though  he  did  not  specifically  propose  Palestine  for 
the  purpose.  The  interest  in  the  idea  that  had  been 
aroused  in  the  ’sixties  soon  bore  fruit,  for  the  work  of 
colonization  was  actually  begun  in  1870  by  the  establish¬ 
ment,  by  the  “  Alliance  Israelite,”  of  an  agricultural  school 
at  Mikveh  Israel  (“  The  Hope  of  Israel  ”).  In  the  follow¬ 
ing  decade  the  Society  of  “Lovers  of  Zion”  ( Chovevei  Zion) 
was  founded  in  1884  by  a  Jewish  Conference  at  Katto- 
witz,  to  promote  the  Jewish  resettlement  upon  a  more 
extensive  scale,  and  affiliated  societies  sprang  up  in  various 
parts  of  Europe.  The  work  of  colonization,  however, 
lagged  at  the  beginning,  partly  owing  to  the  early  settlers 


ZIONISM 


329 


being  endowed  only  with  zeal,  but  with  little  practical 
knowledge,  and  partly  owing  to  the  obstacles  inevitably 
associated  with  pioneer  settlement ;  and  it  was  not  until 
Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild  came  to  its  aid  with  his 
munificent  generosity  that  it  made  any  appreciable  pro¬ 
gress.  The  "  Lovers  of  Zion  ”  were  animated,  it  is  true, 
by  the  national  sentiment,  but  the  general  character  of 
their  activity  was  a  blend  of  philanthropy  and  religious 
piety,  whilst  the  aid  contributed  by  Western  Jews  was  also 
prompted  mainly  by  charitable  motives  tinged  with  the 
racial  consciousness.  Not  until  the  advent  of  the  feuille¬ 
tonist  and  playright,  Theodor  Herzl,  in  1896,  was  the 
Jewish  national  sentiment  propounded  as  an  idea  whose 
expression  should  not  limit  itself  to  the  creation  of  scattered 
colonies  in  the  Holy  Land,  but  which  should  expand  into 
an  organized  endeavour  of  the  Jewish  people  to  work 
for  its  national  regeneration.  Hitherto  the  national  idea 
had  meant  that  Western  Jews  helped  Eastern  Jews  to  settle 
in  Palestine  ;  henceforth  it  was  to  mean  that  Western  Jews 
were  to  work  together  with  their  Eastern  brethren  for  the 
restoration  of  Jewish  national  life  in  Palestine,  in  which 
not  a  section  of  the  people  but  the  whole  people  should 
be  represented.  The  religious-philanthropic  movement 
became  a  national-political  movement — Chovevei  Zionism 
became  Political  Zionism. 

Herzl  promulgated  his  first  ideas  upon  the  re-nationaliza¬ 
tion  of  the  Jews  in  a  pamphlet,  The  Jewish  State,  which 
served  the  purpose  of  arousing  a  discussion  of  the  question 
throughout  the  whole  world,  although  its  detailed  proposals 
were  afterwards  modified.  His  scheme  encountered  bitter 
opposition  in  Western  Europe  and  America,  not  merely  on 
the  part  of  influential  laymen,  but  also  on  the  part  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  Rabbis.  The  former  declared  that  Herzl’s 
ideas  were  subversive  of  local  patriotism,  a  point  that  never 
occurred  to  Christians  themselves  ;  the  latter  banned  his 
scheme  as  a  violation  of  the  “  Mission  of  Israel  ”  and  a 
contradiction  of  the  Messianic  doctrine.  But  despite 
relentless  and  powerful  opposition,  conducted  in  the  press 
and  pulpit,  Herzl  succeeded  in  convening  a  Congress  for 


330 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


the  purpose  of  deliberation.  It  was  opened  at  Basle  on 
27th  August  1897,  and  was  attended  by  206  delegates  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  This  Congress  adopted  as  the  pro¬ 
gramme  of  Zionism  “  the  creation  of  a  publicly-legally 
secured  home  in  Palestine  for  the  Jewish  people/’  and  it 
laid  the  foundations  of  a  world-wide  Organization,  com¬ 
prising  federations  with  numerous  local  societies  in  all  the 
countries  that  have  a  considerable  Jewish  population. 
The  government  of  the  Organization  was  entrusted  to  a 
General  Council  (Greater  Actions  Committee)  composed 
of  representatives  of  different  countries,  and  to  a  Central 
Executive  (Smaller  Actions  Committee),  whose  members 
all  lived  in  Vienna,  the  home  of  Herzl,  who  was  elected 
as  President.  Every  Jew  was  declared  to  be  a  Zionist 
who  acknowledged  the  Basle  Programme  and  who  paid 
the  annual  tax  of  a  shekel  (one  shilling)  to  provide  the 
central  administration  with  its  working  fund.  The  pay¬ 
ment  of  the  shekel  conferred  the  right  to  vote  for  a  delegate 
to  Congress,  which  became  the  controlling  organ  of  the 
movement,  the  ultimate  arbiter  upon  all  great  and  de¬ 
cisive  measures  undertaken  in  the  name  of  the  Organiza¬ 
tion. 

Since  the  first  Congress  at  Basle  ten  other  Zionist 
Congresses  have  been  held,  first  at  intervals  of  a  year  and 
then  of  two  years  ;  and  in  the  sixteen  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  its  foundation  the  Zionist  Organization  has 
acquired  a  firm  footing  in  the  Jewish  communities  all  over 
the  globe,  established  a  number  of  important  institutions 
necessary  for  the  execution  of  its  plans,  and  embarked 
upon  systematic  colonizing  activity  in  the  Holy  Land. 
Zionism  has  exercised  such  a  profound  and  determining 
influence  upon  Jewish  life  that  its  creation  constitutes 
as  significant  and  important  a  landmark  in  Jewish 
history  as  the  act  of  political  emancipation  in  many 
a  Western  country.  It  forced  every  thinking  Jew 
to  make  up  his  mind  what  his  attitude  should  be  : 
whether  he  should  be  content  with  the  policy  of  laissez 
faire  tranquilly  pursued  by  the  official  communal  organiza¬ 
tions,  with  their  promotion  of  assimilation,  or  whether 


ZIONISM 


33i 


he  should  deliver  himself  from  this  fatal  drift  and  strive 
for  the  regeneration  of  his  people.  It  came  as  a  redeeming 
angel  to  thousands  of  cultured  Jews  in  the  West  who  had 
lost  their  faith  in  the  religion  of  their  fathers,  and  who 
were  faced  by  despair  and  the  possibility  of  utter  absorp¬ 
tion  into  their  environment,  for  it  revived  their  national 
consciousness  that  had  slumbered  so  long.  It  inspired 
them  with  a  new  dignity  and  self-respect  :  it  stiffened 
the  back  and  steadied  the  eye  of  the  Jewish  student  in 
Germany  and  Austria,  who  had  hitherto  listened  in  silence 
to  the  gibes  of  his  Christian  fellow-students,  but  who 
now,  infused  with  a  new  soul,  proudly  bore  his  Jewish 
colours  and  commanded  respect  for  the  Jewish  name  by 
the  only  method  acceptable  in  academic  circles  on  the 
Continent — skill  and  prowess  in  fencing.  It  enkindled  a 
love  for  Jewish  literature  and  a  pride  in  Jewish  history  : 
it  caused  the  Hebrew  language  to  be  cultivated  anew  as 
a  modern  speech,  capable  of  expressing  all  the  thoughts 
and  ideas  of  the  cultured  mind.  It  made  Jewish  thinkers 
take  a  deeper  and  more  comprehensive  view  of  the  Jewish 
question,  and  inspired  the  writing  of  a  number  of  literary 
works — poems,  novels,  dramas,  and  sociological  studies — 
in  different  languages.  It  also  exercised  a  stimulating 
influence  upon  Jewish  art  and  music,  and  infused  a  Jewish 
spirit  into  many  spheres  of  thought  and  endeavour. 
Zionism,  moreover,  has  bridged  over  the  gulf  that  had 
long  existed  between  the  Jews  of  the  East  and  those  of 
the  West  despite  the  philanthropic  work  that  had  been 
carried  on  for  decades  by  the  latter  in  the  interests  of 
the  former  :  the  Jews  of  the  East  had  hitherto  been 
regarded  as  mere  objects  of  charity,  now  they  were  regarded 
as  brothers.  And  no  institution  in  Jewry  can  compare  in 
its  unique  significance  with  the  Zionist  Congress,  which 
draws  together  Jews  from  every  land  and  every  clime, 
from  every  rank  and  profession,  from  every  school  of 
thought  and  point  of  view,  the  American  Jew  and  the 
Oriental,  the  orthodox  Rabbi  and  the  agnostic  author, 
the  merchant  and  the  scientist,  the  student  and  the  work¬ 
man,  providing  them  all  with  a  unique  opportunity  of 


332 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


learning  to  know  and  understand  one  another,  levelling 
their  local  prejudices,  and  strengthening  the  feeling  of 
fraternity  that  binds  them  together.  But  it  must  be 
admitted  that,  although  the  propaganda  of  Zionism  has 
now  been  carried  on  for  more  than  sixteen  years  by  means 
of  a  host  of  journals  in  twenty  different  languages  and 
countless  eloquent  advocates  in  all  parts  of  the  world, 
its  organized  adherents  number  only  about  130,000,  which 
forms  a  very  small  minority  of  the  Jewish  people.  The 
process  of  assimilation  had  been  allowed  too  long  a  start  : 
the  disintegrating  effects  of  a  hundred  years  of  social 
emancipation  cannot  be  arrested  in  a  day.  Zionism  has 
its  staunchest  and  most  numerous  followers  among  the 
Jews  in  Eastern  Europe  and  those  who,  born  within  this 
zone  of  intense  Jewish  life,  have  settled  during  the  last 
thirty  years  in  England,  America,  and  the  British  colonies  ; 
but  it  also  has  a  growing  number  of  ardent  supporters, 
particularly  in  the  professional  classes,  among  the  Jews 
in  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary,  whilst  there  is  hardly 
a  land  in  Europe,  or  a  Jewish  city  in  any  other  continent, 
that  has  not  its  band  of  energetic  and  self-sacrificing 
workers,  for  the  Zionist  societies  extend  from  Hamburg 
to  Hong-Kong,  from  Montreal  to  Melbourne,  from  Cape 
Town  to  Copenhagen. 

In  order  to  carry  out  its  policy  the  Zionist  Organization 
has  created  a  number  of  institutions  of  a  financial,  economic, 
and  intellectual  character.  First  in  importance  came 
the  financial  instrument,  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust,  which 
was  originally  designed  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
charter  from  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  for  an  autonomous 
Jewish  settlement  in  Palestine.  The  Trust  was  registered 
as  a  joint-stock  company  in  London  in  1899,  and  is 
unique  among  the  banks  of  the  world,  for  its  100,000 
shareholders  and  more  are  distributed  all  over  the  face  of 
the  earth.  It  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  ^260,000,  and 
began  its  operations  in  1901.  Two  years  later  the  Trust 
established  an  important  offshoot,  the  Anglo-Palestine 
Company  in  Jaffa,  which  subsequently  opened  branches 
in  Jerusalem,  Beyrut,  Haifa,  Safed,  Hebron,  Tiberias,  and 


ZIONISM 


333 


Gaza,  and  now  has  a  paid-up  capital  of  £100,000.  In  1908, 
soon  after  the  Turkish  Revolution,  the  Zionist  Organization 
extended  its  financial  operations  by  founding  the  Anglo- 
Levantine  Banking  Company  in  Constantinople,  which 
has  a  paid-up  capital  of  £25,000.  In  order  to  acquire 
land  in  Palestine  the  Jewish  National  Fund  was  founded 
in  1901  and  registered  as  an  English  limited  liability 
company,  and  although  it  derives  its  income  solely  from 
voluntary  contributions  it  has  already  accumulated  a 
capital  of  £200,000.  Part  of  this  money  has  been  devoted 
to  the  purchase  of  land  which  has  been  put  under  cultiva¬ 
tion  and  to  fostering  agriculture,  part  has  been  applied 
to  the  betterment  of  housing  accommodation  in  towns 
and  rural  settlements,  and  part  has  been  used  to  support 
institutions  of  public  utility,  such  as  schools  conducted 
on  Jewish  national  principles.  The  actual  task  of  the 
purchase  and  improvement  of  land  was  undertaken  by 
the  Palestine  Land  Development  Company,  which  was 
founded  in  1908  and  devotes  itself  mainly  to  the  interests 
of  private  capitalists,  and  by  the  Erez  Israel  (“  Land  of 
Israel”)  Settlement  Association,  which  was  founded  three 
years  later  with  the  object  of  establishing  colonies  of 
labourers  upon  a  co-operative  basis.  The  principal  founda¬ 
tions  in  the  intellectual  sphere  of  activity  are  the  Bezalel , 
a  school  of  arts  and  crafts  (named  after  the  architect  of 
the  Tabernacle  in  the  Wilderness)  which  was  established 
in  Jerusalem  in  1905,  and  the  Culture  Fund  Kedem 
(“  East”),  which  was  created  in  1913  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  J ewish  national  culture.  We  shall  now  consider 
the  work  that  has  been  accomplished  by  the  Zionist  Organiza¬ 
tion  by  means  of  these  various  institutions  and  companies. 

When  the  Zionists  first  began  to  undertake  the  coloniza¬ 
tion  of  Palestine  they  were  confronted  by  a  serious  and 
stupendous  task,  although  a  large  number  of  Jewish 
colonists  had  already  been  established  by  means  of  phil¬ 
anthropy.  Their  task  consisted  in  nothing  less  than  the 
adaptation  of  an  Eastern  land  that  had  been  neglected 
for  centuries  as  a  home  suitable  for  an  industrious  and 
highly  civilized  people  that  had  long  been  nurtured  amid 


334 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Western,  or  semi-Western  conditions.  The  indolent  spirit 
of  the  East,  however  welcome  to  the  pious  pilgrim  or  to 
the  greybeard  come  to  die  on  sacred  soil,  seemed  to  diffuse 
its  torpid  influence  throughout  the  country.  Industry 
pursued  a  slow  and  somnolent  course,  because  this  un¬ 
developed  agricultural  region  lacked  the  vital  stimulus 
of  credit.  There  was,  indeed,  a  certain  system  of  credit 
in  vogue,  but  it  was  not  calculated  to  encourage  enterprise 
or  to  quicken  a  sense  of  responsibility.  A  rich  landowner 
would  lend  money  to  a  struggling  farmer  at  usurious 
interest  without  any  security,  and  in  default  of  repay¬ 
ment  he  would  with  the  help  of  hired  soldiers  seize  some 
of  the  debtor’s  cattle.  Even  if  this  dramatic  develop¬ 
ment  were  unnecessary,  the  rate  of  interest  that  had 
to  be  paid  scarcely  permitted  the  farmer  or  tradesman 
to  make  any  progress  in  his  respective  calling.  Not 
until  the  Anglo-Palestine  Company  appeared  upon  the 
scene  was  a  radical  change  brought  about  in  this  direction. 
The  Zionist  Bank  was  the  first  to  introduce  European 
conceptions  ofrcredit  into  the  Holy  Land,  thus  conferring  a 
boon  upon  all  classes  of  society  and  all  grades  of  industry. 
It  grants  loans  for  short  periods  at  moderate  interest  to 
colonists,  merchants,  and  manufacturers  of  recognized 
solvency,  and  loans  for  longer  periods  to  farmers  and 
building  societies,  the  repayment  of  which  is  guaranteed 
respectively  by  the  harvest  or  rent.  It  has  promoted 
the  formation  of  co-operative  loan  societies  among  the 
artisans,  small  traders,  and  agricultural  workers,  to  such 
an  extent  that  there  are  now  fifty- two  societies  with 
2300  members  enjoying  a  credit  of  over  660,000 
francs.  It  has  also  advanced  considerable  loans  for  land 
purchase  and  for  the  promotion  of  many  objects  that  in 
other  countries  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  community 
or  the  State,  such  as  local  administration,  water-supply, 
public  security,  traffic,  and  the  building  of  schools  and 
hospitals — all  urgent  objects  for  which  the  colonies  could 
not  obtain  the  means  upon  reasonable  terms  from  any 
other  source.  The  confidence  enjoyed  by  the  Zionist 
Bank  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  its  deposits  and  current 


ZIONISM 


335 


accounts  increased  from  383,000  francs  at  the  end  of 
1903  to  8,300,000  francs  at  the  end  of  1913,  and  it  has 
paid  a  dividend  of  4J  per  cent  every  year  from  1906  to 
1913.  The  benefits  that  it  has  conferred  upon  the  business 
life  of  Palestine  and  Syria  are  by  no  means  confined  to 
Jewish  circles,  for  Moslems  and  Christians  are  also  among 
its  clients,  and  the  success  that  it  has  achieved  within 
the  first  ten  years  of  its  existence  affords  a  sure  prospect 
of  more  extensive  usefulness  in  the  near  future.1 

A  much  more  important  problem  was  the  creation  of 
an  agricultural  population,  for  this  must  form  the 
basis  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth  in  Palestine.  The 
colonies  that  had  been  established  by  the  Chovevei  Zion 
and  by  the  munificence  of  Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild 
were  unable  to  point  to  any  notable  success,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  they  were  the  product  of  philanthropy,  and 
that  some  of  the  colonists  did  not  have  the  necessary 
backbone  and  enterprise  which  can  be  developed  only  by 
self-help.  The  Zionist  Organization  resolved  not  to  follow 
in  this  unwise  path,  but  to  attract  private  capitalists 
who  would  be  sufficiently  animated  by  the  national  senti¬ 
ment  to  buy  land  and  cultivate  it,  and  to  attract  labourers 
who  would  also  be  inspired  by  sufficient  idealism  to  work 
the  land.  The  difficulties  that  formerly  frightened  would- 
be  settlers  away,  and  which  consisted  mainly  in  the  fact  that 
the  plots  for  sale  were  usually  too  large  for  their  individual 
requirements  and  that  the  legal  formalities  connected  with 
the  transfer  involved  a  considerable  loss  of  time,  have  been 
removed  by  the  Palestine  Land  Development  Company. 
This  Company  acquires  large  tracts  (either  with  its  own 
means  or  with  those  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund),  prepares 
them  for  cultivation,  and  divides  them  into  small  holdings 
suitable  for  farmers  of  moderate  means,  whilst  it  also 
constructs  ways  of  communication  and  provides  a  water- 
supply.  On  the  other  hand,  in  various  countries  there 
have  been  formed  a  large  number  of  plantation  companies 

1  The  Anglo-Palestine  Company  has  issued  a  special  volume  in  English, 
giving  an  account  of  the  work  of  the  bank  and  its  branches  during  the 
ye  ars  1903-13. 


336  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


(mostly  under  the  name  of  Achuzah  or  Estate  Companies), 
with  shares  that  can  be  paid  off  in  quarterly  instal¬ 
ments,  so  that  every  holder  of  even  a  few  shares  can 
settle  in  Palestine  in  the  course  of  time.  Two  colonies 
have  already  been  established  upon  this  basis,  the  first  by 
a  group  of  American  Zionists  at  Pori  ah,  near  Chinnereth, 
in  1911,  and  the  second  by  a  group  of  Russian  Zionists  at 
Ruchama  in  1912.  The  task  of  creating  a  Jewish  peasant 
class,  in  view  of  the  strong  individualism  even  of  the 
Jewish  labourer,  can  most  probably  be  solved  best  by  the 
founding  of  farm  settlements  upon  a  co-operative  basis, 
which  can  secure  the  maximum  of  labour  out  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual  by  giving  him  a  material  interest  in  the  result  of 
his  efforts.  Such  a  settlement  has  already  proved  successful 
at  Dagania,  on  the  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  and  another 
co-operative  settlement  upon  a  more  ambitious  scale, 
planned  by  the  well-known  economist  Dr.  Franz  Oppen- 
heimer,  has  been  founded  at  Merchaviah,  near  Nazareth. 
Five  years  ago  there  were  only  a  few  hundred  Jewish 
labourers  in  the  Palestinian  colonies,  most  of  the  work 
being  done  by  Arabs  ;  but  the  number  has  now  risen  to 
fifteen  hundred,  owing  partly  to  the  increase  of  farm  settle¬ 
ments  and  partly  to  the  immigration  of  the  Jews  from 
Yemen,  who  live  simple,  frugal  lives  and  are  thus  able  to 
compete  with  the  native  Arabs.  The  large  number  of 
Jews  (about  30,000)  who  are  still  anxious  to  leave  their 
terror-ridden  hamlets  in  the  Yemen  for  the  peace  of  the 
Holy  Land  should  contribute  in  a  great  measure  to  solve 
the  labour  question. 

Despite  the  thirty  years  in  which  Jews  have  been 
engaged  in  the  colonization  of  Palestine  they  possess  at 
present  barely  more  than  2  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of 
the  country,  whilst  they  form  nearly  14^  per  cent  of  the 
population.  There  has  been  a  notable  increase  of  Jewish 
land  acquisition,  however,  since  the  Zionist  Organization 
became  active,  and  there  is  every  indication  that  the 
increase  will  continue.  There  has  also  been  a  great 
improvement  in  technical  methods,  thanks  to  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  modern  machinery  and  the  activity  of  the  Agri- 


ZIONISM 


337 


cultural  Experiment  Station  at  Haifa,  which  owes  its 
inception  to  Zionist  effort,  though  its  actual  foundation 
is  due  to  a  group  of  American  Jews.  The  training  of 
young  farmers  is  carried  on  at  an  agricultural  school  at 
Petach  Tikvah,  and  the  dissemination  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  latest  methods  and  newest  implements  is  effected  by 
means  of  a  technical  journal  in  Hebrew.  The  colonization 
has  improved  in  two  main  directions  in  recent  years  :  it 
has  expanded  from  the  narrow  basis  of  viticulture  to  which 
it  was  confined  for  so  many  years,  and  now  comprises  all 
branches  of  farming — agriculture,  horticulture,  kitchen¬ 
gardening,  cattle  and  poultry  raising,  and  dairy  farming  ; 
and  secondly,  an  earnest  beginning  has  been  made  in  a 
special  school  with  the  training  of  girls  for  life  on  a 
farm.  For  only  when  the  Jewish  farmer  is  not  tied 
exclusively  to  one  branch  of  farming,  and  when  he  receives 
the  willing  and  competent  aid  of  his  wife  and  daughters, 
will  he  be  able  to  achieve  success  that  will  endure. 

The  Zionists  have  also  promoted  urban  colonization  so 
far  by  means  of  the  Bezalel  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts  and 
by  the  building  of  modern  dwellings.  The  Bezalel,  which 
consists  of  two  sections,  school  and  workshop,  is  engaged 
in  carpet-weaving,  carpentry,  Damascus  metal- work, 
copper-work,  metal-chasing,  batik-printing,  ivory-carving, 
and  the  making  of  baskets  and  filigree  ornaments.  Starting 
from  very  humble  beginnings,  when  the  workmen  had  to 
be  taught  their  respective  crafts,  the  Bezalel  now  employs 
nearly  400  people,  and  the  quality  of  its  products  may  be 
appreciated  from  the  fact  that  they  are  now  on  sale  at 
some  of  the  leading  business  establishments  in  London, 
Berlin,  and  New  York.  Indeed,  its  carpets  have  lately 
undergone  such  an  improvement  that  European  con¬ 
noisseurs  declare  that  they  can  fully  vie  with  the  famous 
carpets  of  Turkey  and  Persia.  The  Bezalel  has  also  acted 
as  a  pioneer  in  establishing  a  domestic  industry  in  the  open 
country.  It  has  settled  at  Ben  Schamen,  near  Lydda,  a 
group  of  Yemenites,  who  are  provided  with  cottages, 
gardens,  and  a  workshop,  and  who,  while  mainly  engaged 
in  filigree  work  and  carpet  weaving,  are  also  able  to 
22 


338  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


devote  some  time  to  market  gardening  and  poultry  rearing. 
It  has  thus  indicated  the  way  in  which  the  problem  of 
the  growing  congestion  of  Jerusalem,  with  all  its  social 
and  sanitary  evils,  can  be  solved  in  a  manner  that  will 
benefit  both  the  people  and  the  country.  Moreover,  lace 
workrooms  have  been  established  in  Jerusalem,  Jaffa,  and 
other  towns,  in  which  about  400  girls  now  earn  a  living. 

The  other  important  achievement  in  urban  colonization 
is  the  construction  of  an  entire  modern  quarter  in  Jaffa, 
thanks  to  the  aid  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund.  Tel  Abib, 
or  “  Spring  Vale,”  as  this  quarter  is  called,  comprises  well- 
built  houses  which  are  equipped  with  every  comfort  and 
hygienic  requirement,  are  in  striking  contrast  to  the  miser¬ 
able,  unhealthy  dwellings  they  have  replaced,  and  have 
aroused  the  admiration  of  all  European  visitors.  The 
district  already  has  2000  inhabitants  and  is  slowly  expand¬ 
ing.  A  similar  modern  quarter,  named  “  Herzliah,”  is 
being  built  in  Haifa.  The  erection  of  up-to-date  dwellings 
is  merely  part  of  a  larger  programme  for  the  improve¬ 
ment  of  hygienic  conditions.  The  Zionist  Organization 
is  raising  a  fund  for  the  establishment  of  a  Micro¬ 
biological  Institute,  and  meanwhile  it  subventions  a 
“  Society  of  Jewish  doctors  and  scientists  for  sanitary 
improvements  in  Palestine,”  which  co-operates  with  the 
Office  of  Health  founded  by  Mr.  Nathan  Straus  and  with 
a  German  medical  research  institute  in  the  work  of  the 
International  Health  Office,  which  has  set  itself  the  task 
of  combating  malaria  in  Palestine.  The  suppression  of 
other  contagious  diseases  prevalent  in  the  country,  such  as 
trachoma,  has  also  been  undertaken  by  this  Health  Office. 

In  the  sphere  of  education  and  culture  the  most  pro¬ 
minent  place  is  occupied  by  the  Hebrew  Gymnasium  or 
Higher  Grade  School  at  Jaffa,  where  over  500  pupils  now 
receive  efficient  instruction  in  all  subjects  through  the 
medium  of  Hebrew.  The  leaving  certificate  of  this  school 
has  already  been  won  by  the  first  group  of  pupils,  and  it 
has  been  recognized  for  matriculation  purposes  by  several 
Continental  universities.  There  is  a  similar  high  school  at 
Jerusalem,  which  is  at  present  on  a  much  smaller  scale, 


THE  BEZALEL  SCHOOL  IN  JERUSALEM 


jJt, 


ZIONISM 


339 


though  it  is  bound  to  develop  before  long.  There  are  a 
number  of  other  schools,  elementary  and  higher  grade, 
which  are  maintained  by  the  three  philanthropic  organiza¬ 
tions,  the  French  “  Alliance  Israelite,”  the  German  “  Hilfs- 
verein,”  and  the  Anglo- Jewish  Association.  Each  of  these 
bodies  naturally  gives  a  preference  to  the  language  of  its 
own  country  as  the  medium  of  instruction  in  the  schools 
that  it  maintains,  although  this  principle  is  not  carried 
out  strictly  or  systematically.  It  is  inevitable,  however, 
that  there  should  be  a  certain  lack  of  uniformity  in  method 
and  curriculum,  which  the  Union  of  Teachers,  comprising 
150  members,  is  doing  its  utmost  to  remedy  by  arranging 
a  common  curriculum,  organizing  teachers’  examinations, 
and  compiling  text-books  and  reading-books  in  Hebrew. 
The  spread  of  Hebrew  as  the  language  of  ordinary  inter¬ 
course  in  Jewish  life  is  the  most  notable  phenomenon  of 
the  last  decade,  and  hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that 
pupils  who  regard  Hebrew  as  their  mother-tongue  insist 
upon  being  taught  in  this  medium  in  schools  where  prefer¬ 
ence  is  given  to  a  European  tongue.  This  is  the  under¬ 
lying  cause  of  the  remarkable  “  strike  ”  that  took  place  at 
the  schools  of  the  “  Hilfsverein  ”  last  winter,  although  the 
immediate  impetus  to  this  demonstration  was  the  original 
decision  of  the  board  of  governors,  adopted  under  the 
influence  of  the  “  Hilfsverein  ”  members,  that  German — 
and  not  Hebrew — should  be  the  medium  of  instruction  at 
the  newly  built  Technical  Institute  and  the  adjoining 
middle  school  at  Haifa,  for  which  the  major  part  of  the 
funds  had  been  supplied  by  benefactors  in  Russia  and 
America.  But  this  decision  was  reversed  a  few  months 
later  :  it  was  resolved  that  from  the  opening  of  the  Institute 
physics  and  mathematics  should  be  taught  in  Hebrew, 
and  that  at  the  end  of  the  first  four  years  other  subjects 
also  should  be  taught  in  this  medium.  The  enthusiasm 
that  now  prevails  for  Hebrew  culture  has  found  fitting 
expression  in  the  resolve  to  create  a  Hebrew  University  in 
Jerusalem,  which  will  place  the  coping-stone  upon  the 
Jewish  educational  system  in  Palestine.  For  the  present 
Hebrew  culture  is  fostered  by  a  number  of  Hebrew 


34° 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


publishing  houses  and  newspapers,  and  by  a  network  of 
libraries,  of  which  the  principal  is  the  National  Library  in 
Jerusalem.  Hebrew  drama  and  music  are  also  zealously 
fostered,  the  former  by  a  society  that  organizes  periodical 
performances  and  dramatic  recitals  in  Hebrew,  and  the 
latter  by  musical  academies  in  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem.  Thus 
all  intellectual  interests  are  manifested  and  cultivated  in 
the  new  Judaea. 

Herzl,  the  founder  of  the  Organization  that  has  brought 
all  this  vigorous  and  variegated  life  into  being,  conceived 
the  securing  of  a  charter,  guaranteed  by  the  Powers,  to  be 
the  primary  and  fundamental  basis  of  the  Jewish  resettle¬ 
ment  in  Palestine.  That  view  may  have  been  plausible 
in  the  days  of  the  old  regime  under  Abdul  Hamid,  but  Herzl 
was  called  to  an  early  grave  in  1904,  and  since  then  Turkey 
has  acquired  a  constitutional  Government.  It  is  doubtful, 
in  any  case,  if  a  Sultan  of  Turkey  would  give  a  charter  to  a 
body  of  foreigners  for  autonomous  settlement  in  a  land  con¬ 
taining  600,000  Arabs  ;  and  whatever  price  might  be  paid 
for  such  a  document  its  integrity  could  easily  be  destroyed 
by  the  Government  itself,  for  in  this  twentieth  century 
more  than  one  European  Power  has  with  impunity  broken 
its  contractual  pledges,  and  Turkey  must  also  be  reckoned 
among  the  civilized  Powers.  At  the  Zionist  Congress  in 
1909  the  President,  Dr.  MaxNordau,  definitely  relegated  the 
charter  idea  to  the  archives  of  the  movement,  and  although 
it  may  still  have  some  sentimental  adherents  it  has  been 
finally  eliminated  from  the  official  policy.  The  method 
pursued  by  the  Zionist  Organization  is  to  convince  the 
Ottoman  Government  of  the  loyalty  of  its  aims  and  the 
utility  of  its  labours  by  the  most  convincing  of  all  argu¬ 
ments — by  the  nature  of  the  work  it  has  accomplished  in 
promoting  the  economic  and  intellectual  development 
of  Palestine.  Colonizing  activity  is  the  main  factor  in  its 
diplomatic  armoury,  and  its  worth  is  bound  to  tell.  Im¬ 
poverished  so  gravely  by  the  Balkan  Wars,  Turkey  now, 
more  than  ever,  needs  a  vitalizing  stream  of  capital  and 
labour  for  the  restoration  of  her  sunken  fortunes,  and  when 
this  capital  and  labour  is  reinforced  by  industry  and  thrift 


ZIONISM 


34i 


and  is  innocent  of  affiliations  with  any  aiien  Government 
she  has  every  reason  to  welcome  it  not  only  with  interest 
but  with  goodwill.  Deprived  of  the  greater  portion  of  her 
European  territory,  she  must  concentrate  her  attention  more 
seriously  upon  the  development  of  her  Asiatic  possessions, 
and  the  generous  and  intelligent  co-operation  that  she  has 
been  receiving  for  years  in  a  part  of  these  possessions  must 
surely  command  her  approval.  Thirty  years  ago  the 
Turkish  Government  received  from  the  colony  of  Petach 
Tikvah  an  income  tax  of  only  2000  francs  a  year  :  now  it 
receives  200,000  francs  a  year.  Figures  such  as  these  are 
but  typical  of  the  progress  that  the  country  has  made  in 
various  directions  under  the  beneficent  stimulus  of  Jewish 
labour,  and  of  which  more  than  one  Governor  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  has  expressed  his  appreciation  in  flattering  terms. 
That  the  Turkish  Government  has  now  disabused  its  mind  of 
the  baseless  suspicion  that  Zionism  is  pursuing  a  separatist 
policy  may  be  concluded  from  its  official  recognition  of  the 
Jaffa  Gymnasium  and  its  recent  abolition  of  the  “  Red 
Ticket,”  the  passport  which  restricted  the  sojourn  of  the 
foreign  Jew  in  Palestine  to  three  months;  but  not  until  it  has 
reformed  its  obsolete  land  legislation  and  made  it  possible 
for  the  Zionist  Organization  to  acquire  land  in  its  own 
name  as  well  as  to  undertake  important  public  improve¬ 
ments  will  the  success  of  Jewish  colonization  be  definitely 
assured.  Self-interest,  the  most  powerful  motive  in  modern 
politics,  must  disclose  to  the  Turkish  Government  the 
advantage  and  dictate  the  necessity  of  welcoming  and 
encouraging  an  element  that  can  be  so  helpful  to  itself. 
And  the  great  Powers  that  have  Jewish  problems  of  their 
own,  which  they  ineffectually  try  to  solve  by  treating  their 
Jews  as  pariahs  or  denying  them  the  right  of  asylum,  must 
also  perceive  that  their  task  would  be  considerably  alle¬ 
viated  by  the  creation  of  a  large  Jewish  settlement  that 
would  automatically  attract  further  Jews  to  its  borders. 

It  has,  indeed,  been  objected  that  the  increased  settle¬ 
ment  of  Jews  in  the  country  would  be  opposed  by  the  Arabs, 
who  might  fear  that  they  would  be  ousted  from  their  homes. 
But  such  a  fear  is  altogether  groundless.  Palestine,  with 


342 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


an  intensive  system  of  colonization  such  as  is  planned  by 
Zionism,  can  support  at  least  three  and  a  half  million 
inhabitants — five  times  the  present  number — so  that  there 
is  absolutely  no  reason  for  a  displacement  of  the  native 
population.  The  friction  so  far  has  been  insignificant, 
and  it  is  hardly  likely  to  increase,  for  the  Jewish  colonists 
have  already  displayed  a  prowess  as  horsemen  and  a 
courage  in  defending  their  property  that  command  the 
silent  respect  of  the  Arabs.  The  colonists  have  trained 
and  organized  their  own  watchmen  for  the  protection  of 
their  farms,  and  even  Arab  landlords  have  invoked  their 
assistance  in  preference  to  the  unreliable  watchmen  of  a 
former  generation.  But  the  most  powerful  argument 
that  counts  with  the  Arabs,  as  with  the  Government, 
is  the  actual  effect  of  the  Jewish  colonization.  The 
Arab  landlord  has  found  that  the  price  of  his  land  has 
risen  through  the  improvements  that  have  been  effected, 
and  he  has  also  benefited  by  the  modern  methods  of 
cultivation  brought  to  his  knowledge  ;  whilst  the  Arab 
peasant  has  obtained  increased  opportunity  of  employ¬ 
ment.  Both  landowner  and  peasant,  moreover,  and  all 
classes  of  the  Arab  population  have  benefited  by  the 
schools  and  sanitary  improvements  introduced  by  Jewish 
enterprise,  and  they  must  therefore  see  that  their  land 
will  be  made  more  productive,  healthy,  and  habitable 
by  the  continued  settlement  of  the  Jews.  These  facts 
have  been  disguised  by  some  Arabic  newspapers,  but 
they  have  already  been  acknowledged  by  several  leading 
Arabs,  and  they  are  bound  to  penetrate  sooner  or  later  to 
the  consciousness  of  the  general  population. 

The  future  of  the  Zionist  movement  rests  with  the 
Jewish  people.  The  progress  of  the  colonization  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  once  it  has  attained  to  considerable  dimensions,  is 
bound  to  have  an  influence  not  only  upon  the  Jews  in  the 
land  itself  but  also  upon  those  outside  it.  For  the  spec¬ 
tacle  of  the  regeneration  of  a  land  that  had  lain  waste  for 
centuries,  covered  with  flourishing  and  fertile  colonies 
and  with  handsome  and  populous  towns,  in  which  trade 
and  industry  thrive,  art  and  science  are  fostered,  and 


ZIONISM 


343 


culture  is  advanced,  must  arouse  a  feeling  of  pride  even 
in  the  indifferent  Jew  if  he  still  have  a  spark  of  racial  con¬ 
sciousness.  And  the  knowledge  that  his  people,  oppressed 
for  centuries  and  outlawed  even  at  the  present  day,  has 
succeeded  in  building  up  for  itself  a  new  home  in  which  it 
enjoys  peace  and  security,  and  which  arouses  the  admira¬ 
tion  even  of  strangers,  must  surely  inspire  him  to  create  a 
permanent  link  with  the  new  Judaea,  either  by  sharing  in 
the  labours  of  the  Renaissance,  or  by  making  periodical 
pilgrimages  to  its  principal  centres,  and  thus  preserve  him 
from  absorption  in  his  environment.  The  new  Judaea 
cannot  contain  the  whole  of  Jewry,  nor  will  the  whole  of 
Jewry  be  willing  to  exchange  the  comforts  and  attractions 
of  their  Western  homes  for  the  simplicity  of  Palestine  ;  but 
upon  the  success  of  its  development  will  depend  the  survival 
of  the  Jewry  beyond  its  borders.  For  in  the  face  of  the 
countless  forces  of  assimilation  to  which  modern  Jewry  is 
now  exposed,  nothing  can  save  it  from  slow  and  sure 
dissolution  but  the  spiritual  invigoration  that  it  would 
receive  from  a  national  settlement.  No  Jew  in  the  Western 
world  need  fear  that  he  would  then  be  taunted  with  a  lack 
of  patriotism  towards  the  land  of  his  birth,  any  more  than 
the  German  who  settles  in  England  or  the  Italian  who 
settles  in  America  is  upbraided  with  divided  allegiance. 
The  Christian  world  has  never  yet  uttered  a  word  of 
hostility  against  the  realization  of  the  Jewish  national 
ideal ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has  manifested  nought  but 
sympathy  and  encouragement. 

For  nearly  two  thousand  years  Israel  has  been  a 
wanderer  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  driven  from  frontier 
to  frontier  and  from  shore  to  shore  ;  working  in  every  land 
for  its  peace  and  advancement,  yet  doomed  ever  and  again 
to  suffering  and  shame  ;  but  upborne  through  centuries 
of  gloom  by  the  undying  hope  in  a  return  to  Zion.  At 
length  the  ancient  dream,  so  often  thought  to  be  near  to 
fulfilment,  yet  so  often  rudely  shattered,  is  nearer  to  fulfil¬ 
ment  than  ever  before.  Never  were  the  auspices  so  favour¬ 
able,  never  the  power  of  Israel  for  the  attainment  of  his 
own  national  ideal  so  great  as  at  the  present  day.  Nought 


344 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


but  the  will  of  Israel  is  needed  to  change  the  ancient  ideal 
into  a  reality  and  to  perpetuate  his  existence  in  the  land 
of  his  birth. 

The  fate  of  the  Jewish  people  lies  in  its  own  hands, 
and  the  sooner  it  chooses  wisely  the  better  for  its  own 
salvation. 


APPENDIX  I 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  WORLD’S  JEWISH 

POPULATION 

IT  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  exact  number  of  Jews 
in  the  world,  as  only  in  a  comparatively  few  countries 
does  the  Government  census  take  note  of  distinc¬ 
tions  of  religion.  These  countries  are  the  Russian  Empire, 
Austria-Hungary,  Germany,  Rumania,  Bulgaria,  Servia, 
Greece,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Holland,  Luxemburg,  Norway, 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Ireland,  Canada,  Australasia,  and 
India.  As  for  the  other  countries,  we  have  to  depend 
either  upon  official  estimates  or  upon  estimates  made  by  the 
local  Jewish  authorities.  In  the  compilation  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  tables  note  has  been  taken  of  the  statistics  published  in 
the  latest  editions  of  the  Jewish  Year-Book,  the  American 
Jewish  Year-Book,  the  Statesmans  Year-Book,  and  the 
Gothaischer  HoJ-Kalender ,  but  in  determining  certain  items 
the  author  has  also  used  his  own  judgment  and  drawn  upon 
private  sources  of  information.  An  inevitable  element 
of  flux  pertains  to  the  statistics  of  Jewry  owing  to  the 
ceaseless  emigration  from  Eastern  Europe  and  the  parallel 
immigration  mainly  into  the  United  States,  Canada, 
England,  and  South  Africa,  so  that  the  figures  relating  to 
these  countries  are  bound  to  vary  in  some  degree  from  year 
to  year. 

In  the  following  table  estimates  are  marked  by  an  asterisk 
attached  to  the  year,  and  in  every  case  the  estimates  have 
been  carefully  based  upon  the  latest  available  data.  The 
figures  of  the  general  population  are  the  results  of  the  latest 
census,  which  is  occasionally  more  recent  than  the  corre¬ 
sponding  estimate  of  the  Jewish  population. 

345 


346  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


EUROPE 


Country. 

Year  of 
Census 
(or  Esti¬ 
mate  *) . 

Jewish 

Population. 

Total 

Population. 

Jewish 
Percent¬ 
age  of 
Total 
Popula¬ 
tion. 

Russia  in  Europe  : 

Russia  . 

1905* 

4,406,063  1 

120,588,000 

3‘65 

Poland  . 

1908 

1,716,064  s 

12,467,300 

1376 

6,122,127 

133.055.300 

4‘6o 

Austria-Hungary  : 

Galicia  . 

1910 

871,906 

8,029,387 

10-85 

Bukowina 

1910 

102,919 

800,098 

I2'86 

Rest  of  Austria 

1910 

338,862 

19,742,449 

1-71 

Hungary 

1910 

932,416 

20,886,787 

4-40 

Bosnia-Herzegovina 

1910 

12,169 

1,928,833 

064 

2,258,272 

5U387,554 

4’39 

Germany  . 

1910 

615,029 

64,925,993 

095 

United  Kingdom 

1914* 

270,000  3 

45,370,530 

o-59 

Rumania  . 

1914* 

250,000  4 

7,601,660 

3-28 

Holland 

1909 

106,309 

6,022,452 

1-76 

France 

1911 

100,000 

39,601,509 

0-25 

Turkey 

1914* 

95,000  6 

1,891,100 

5-02 

Greece 

1914* 

90,000  6 

4,256,000 

211 

Bulgaria  . 

1914* 

50,000  5 

4,766,900 

1-04 

Italy 

1911 

43-924® 

34.671.371 

0’12 

Switzerland 

1910 

19,023 

3,74I>971 

0-5I 

Servia 

1914* 

16,000  5 

4,624,000 

0‘34 

Belgium  . 

1911* 

15,000 

7,490,411 

0‘20 

Carry  forward 

•  « 

10,050,684 

•  • 

•  • 

1  Estimate  of  Government  Statistical  Office  [Zeitschrift  fur  Demo¬ 
graphic  u,  Statistik  d.  Juden,  1911,  p.  119). 

2  Report  of  Warsaw  Statistical  Committee  [Zeitschrift  f.  Demog.  u. 
Stat.  d.  Juden,  1911,  p.  88). 

3  This  estimate  is  arrived  at  by  adding  together  the  figures  of  the 
Jewish  population  in  all  the  towns  of  the  United  Kingdom,  as  given  in  the 
Jewish  Year-Book  for  1914,  multiplying  the  number  of  families  (where  the 
population  is  so  stated)  by  5,  and  assuming  a  minimum  population  of 
30  for  towns  with  a  synagogue  for  which  no  figure  is  given.  The  Jewish 
population  of  London  is  estimated  at  160,000  (the  estimate  of  Joseph 
Jacobs  for  1902  was  150,000,  Jewish  Encyclopcedia,  vol.  viii.  p.  174). 

4  According  to  the  last  census  in  1899  the  Jews  in  Rumania  numbered 

266,652,  but  55,000  emigrated  in  the  period  1899-1905.  It  is  probable 
that  the  population  has  since  been  brought  up  to  250,000  by  natural 
increase. 

6  Estimated  after  the  territorial  changes  caused  by  the  Balkan  Wars. 

6  Prof.  Loevinson’s  estimate  is  45,000.  Ost  und  West,  September  1912. 


APPENDIX  I 


347 


EUROPE — continued 


Country. 

Year  of 
Census 
(or  Esti¬ 
mate  *). 

Jewish 

Population. 

Total 

Population. 

Jewish 
Percent¬ 
age  of 
Total 
Popula¬ 
tion. 

Brought  forward 

•  • 

10,050,684 

•  • 

•  • 

Norway 

1910 

1,045 

2,391,782 

0-04 

Sweden 

1910 

3-912 

5,604,192 

o-o6 

Denmark  . 

1911 

5,164 

2,775,076 

0-18 

Luxemburg 

1910 

1,270 

259,891 

0-41 

Spain 

1910* 

4,000 

19,943,817 

002 

Portugal  . 

1911* 

1,000 

5,957,98 5 

O’OI 

Gibraltar  . 

1913* 

1,300 

25,367 

5-12 

Malta 

1913* 

60 

228,534 

0'02 

Total 

•  • 

10,068,435 

•  • 

*  * 

ASIA 

Russia  in  Asia  : 

Caucasus 

1905 

65,88s1 

12,037,200 

o’54 

Siberia  . 

1905 

4°,443  1 

8,719,200 

0-46 

Central  Asia  . 

1905 

14,305  1 

10,107,300 

014 

Bokhara  . 

1905* 

120,636 
20,000  2 

30,863,700 

1,500,000 

0-39 

i'33 

Turkey  in  Asia : 

Asia  Minor 

1914* 

60,000 

10,940,765 

°‘54 

Syria  and  Mesopo¬ 
tamia  . 

1914* 

100,000 

3,000,000 

3*33 

Palestine 

1914* 

100,000 

700,000 

14-28 

Arabia  . 

1914* 

30,000 

1,050,000 

2-85 

Persia 

1914* 

40,000 

9,500,000 

0-42 

Afghanistan 

1913* 

19,000 

5,900,000 

0-32 

Aden 

1913* 

3,747 

46,165 

8-n 

India 

1911 

20,980 

3i5T32,537 

O'OI 

Dutch  East  Indies 

1905 

8,605 

38,000,000 

0-02 

China  and  Japan 

1913* 

2,000 

364,601,269 

•  • 

Straits  Settlements 

1913* 

535 

700,000 

0-07 

Cyprus 

1913* 

155 

275,000 

005 

Total 

•  • 

525,658 

•  • 

•  • 

1  Estimate  of  Russian  Government  Statistical  Office  ( Zeit .  f.  Demog.  u. 
Stat.  d.  Juden,  1911,  p.  119). 

2  Elkan  N.  Adler,  Jews  in  Many  Lands,  p.  221. 


348  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


AFRICA 


Country. 

Year  of 
Census 
(or  Esti¬ 
mate  *). 

Jewish 

Population. 

Total 

Population. 

Jewish 
Percent¬ 
age  of 
Total 
Popula¬ 
tion. 

Morocco  . 

1912* 

109,712 

7,000,000 

1-56 

Algeria 

1911 

70,271 1 

5,600,000 

1  25 

Tunis 

1911 

65,213  2 

1,800,000 

3-62 

Tripoli 

1913* 

19,000 3 

523,176 

3‘63 

Egypt 

1913* 

50,000 

11,300,000 

°'44 

Abyssinia  . 

1911* 

50,000 4 * 

7,000,000 

0-71 

East  Africa 

1914* 

50 

•  • 

•  . 

South  Africa 

1914* 

50,000 

6,000,000 

0-83 

Total 

•  • 

4^,246 

•  • 

•  • 

AMERICA 

United  States 

1913* 

2,300,000 6 

91,972,266 

2-50 

Canada 

1911 

75,68i 

7,204,838 

1  05 

Argentine  . 

1914* 

100,000 6 

8,000,000 

125 

Mexico 

1911 

8,972 

15,063,207 

o‘o6 

Cuba 

1910* 

4,000 

2,220,278 

o‘i8 

Brazil 

1900 

3,000 

17,318,556 

0’02 

Dutch  Guiana  : 

Surinam 

1910 

933 

86,233 

i*o8 

Cura5ao . 

1910 

670 

54,469 

1-23 

Jamaica  . 

1911 

984 

831,383 

012 

Panama 

1913 

505 

426,928 

0‘II 

Peru 

1896 

499 

4,609,999 

O’OI 

Venezuela  . 

1894 

411 

2,743,841 

OOI 

Uruguay  . 

1910 

150 

1,177,560 

OOI 

Total 

•  • 

2,495,805 

•  • 

•  • 

1  Annuaire  Statistique  de  la  France,  1911. 

2  Gothaischer  Hof-Kalender,  1911. 

3  Ost  und  West,  June  1912  (Article  by  Prof.  Loevinson). 

4  Dr.  J.  Faitlovitch,  Quer  durch  Abessinien,  p.  173. 

6  The  Jewish  population  of  the  United  States  was  estimated  by  the 
American  Jewish  Year-Book  in  1910  at  2,043,762  (an  increase  of  266,577 
upon  the  number  in  1907).  In  the  three  years  1910-13  there  was  a  net 
addition  of  252,632  Jews  by  immigration,  and  as  any  diminution  of  this 
number  by  death  must  be  considerably  less  than  the  natural  increase  of 
the  previous  population,  it  is  safe  to  assume  a  present  population  of  about 
2,300,000. 

6  Jewish  Chronicle,  29th  May  1914  (40,000  Jews  are  in  country  districts, 

40,000  in  the  capital,  and  over  20,000  in  other  cities). 


APPENDIX  I 


349 


AUSTRALASIA 


Country. 

Year  of 
Census. 

Jewish 

Population. 

Total 

Population. 

Jewish 
Percent¬ 
age  of 
Total 
Popula¬ 
tion. 

Australia  . 

• 

1911 

17,287 

5,000,000 

o-34 

New  Zealand 

• 

1911 

2,128 

1,100,000 

020 

Total 

• 

•  • 

i9,4i5 

•  • 

•  • 

Summary 


Jews  in  Europe 
,,  Asia  . 

,,  Africa 

,,  America 

,,  Australasia 


10,068,435 

525,658 

414,246 

2,495,805 

I9,4I5 


Grand  total 


13,523,559 1 


1  The  discrepancy  between  this  grand  total  and  that  given  in  the  diagram 
at  the  end  of  the  book  is  due  to  the  latter  having  been  prepared  before 
the  publication  of  the  latest  estimate  of  the  Jews  in  the  Argentine. 

SOME  PREVIOUS  ESTIMATES  OF  THE  WORLD’S  JEWISH  POPULATION 


Authority. 

Time. 

Estimated  Number. 

Balbi  . 

.  1829 

.  4,000,000 

Jost  . 

.  1846 

.  3,143,000 

Legoyt 

.  1868 

.  4,550,000 

I.  Loeb 

•  1879 

6,276,957 

Andree 

.  1881 

.  6,193,662 

Ency.  Brit.  . 

1881 

.  6,200,000 

A.  Nossig 

.  1887 

.  6,582,500 

J .  J  acobs 

.  1896 

.  9,066,534 

I.  Harris 

1902 

10,319,402 

A.  Ruppin  . 

.  1904 

.  10,456,000 

Jew  Encyc.  . 

.  1905 

11,273,076 

A.  Ruppin  . 

.  1911 

.  11,558,610 

I.  Harris 

•  1913 

.  12,134,179 

APPENDIX  II 


IMMIGRATION  TO  NORTH  AMERICA 


(A)  JEWISH  IMMIGRANTS  AND  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  IMMI¬ 
GRANTS  ADMITTED  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 
1880-1913 


Fiscal  Year, 
July  1- 
June  30. 

Total  Immigrants. 

Jewish  Immigrants. 

Percent¬ 
age  of 
Total. 

1880-81 

669,431 

8,193 

I  '2 

1881-82 

788,992 

31,807 

4‘2 

1882-83 

603,322 

6,907 

12 

1883-84 

518,592 

27,410 

5’3 

1884-85 

395. 346 

36,214 

9-0 

1885-86 

334.203 

46,967 

i4’o 

1886-87 

490,109 

56,412 

11  5 

1887-88 

546,889 

62,619 

11  ‘5 

1888-89 

444.427 

55,851 

'126 

1889-90 

455.302 

67,450 

14-8 

1890-91 

560,319 

111,284 

20'0 

1891-92 

579,663 

136,742 

23-6 

1892-93 

439,730 

68,569 

155 

1893-94 

285,631 

58,833 

20'4 

1894-95 

258,536 

65,309 

26-1 

1895-96 

343,267 

73,255 

21'4 

1896-97 

230,832 

43,434 

i8-o 

1 897-98 

229,299 

54,630 

24'0 

1898-99 

3IU7I5 

37,4I5 

I2'0 

1899-00 

448,572 

60,764 

13*5 

1900-01 

487,918 

58,098 

12-5 

1901-02 

648,743 

57,688 

8-7 

1902-03 

857,046 

76,203 

8-8 

1903-04 

812,870 

106,236 

13*0 

1904-05 

1,026,499 

129,910 

I2’6 

1905-06 

1,100,735 

153,748 

.140 

1906-07 

1,285,349 

149,182 

11*6 

1907-08 

;  [782,870 

103,387 

16*6 

1908-09 

75L 7S6 

57,55i 

r  7 

1909-10 

1,041,570 

84,260 

8' 0 

1910-11 

878,587 

91,223 

10*3 

1911-12 

838,172 

80,595 

9*6 

1912-13 

1,197,892 

101,330 

84 

Total 

20,644,214 

2,359,476 

n*4 

350 


APPENDIX  II 


35i 


(B)  NET  INCREASE  THROUGH  IMMIGRATION  TO  THE 

UNITED  STATES,  1908-13 


Fiscal 
Year, 
July  1- 
June  30. 

Number  Admitted. 

Number  Departed. 

Net  Increase. 

Jews. 

Total. 

Jews. 

Total. 

Jews. 

Total. 

1907- 08 

1908- 09 

1909- 10 

1910- 11 

1911- 12 

1912- 13 

103,387 

57,55i 

84,260 

91,223 

80,595 

101,330 

782,870 

751,786 

1,041,570 

878,587 

838,172 

1,197,892 

7,702 

6,105 

5,689 

6,401 

7,418 

6,697 

395,073 

225,802 

202,436 

295,266 

333,262 

308,190 

95,685 

5U446 

78,571 

84,822 

73U77 

94>633 

387,797 

525,984 

839T34 

582,921 

504,910 

889,702 

Total 

518,346 

5,490,877 

40,012 

1,760,429 

478,334 

3,730,448 

(C)  IMMIGRATION  TO  CANADA 


Year.1 

Jewish 

Immigrants. 

Total  Continental 
Immigrants,  etc.2 

All  Immigrants. 

1901 

2,765 

19,352 

49,149 

1902 

1,015 

23,732 

67,379 

1903 

2,066 

37,099 

128,364 

1904 

3,727 

34,786 

i3o,33x 

1905 

7,7i5 

37,364 

146,266 

1906 

7, 12  7 

44,472 

189,064 

19073 

6,584 

34,217 

124,667 

1908 

7,712 

83,975 

262,469 

1909 

1,636 

34>I75 

146,908 

1910 

3,182 

45,206 

208,794 

1911 

5A46 

66,620 

311,084 

1912 

5,322 

82,406 

354,237 

1913 

7,387 

112,881 

402,432 

Total 

61,384 

656,285 

2,521,144 

1  Fiscal  year  ended  30th  June  for  1900-06,  thereafter  31st  March. 

2  Excluding  immigration  from  the  United  States  and  United  Kingdom. 

3  Nine  months  ended  31st  March. 


APPENDIX  III 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

THE  following  are  the  principal  sources  that  have 
been  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this 
volume  : — 

I.  GENERAL 

Publications  of  the  “Bureau  fur  Statistik  der  Juden,” 
Berlin  : — 

Der  Anteil  der  Juden  am  Unterrichtswesen  in  Preussen,  1905. 
Die  sozialen  V erhaltnisse  der  Juden  in  Russland ,  1906. 

Die  jiidischen  Gemeinden  und  Vereine  in  Deutschland,  1906. 
Die  Juden  in  Oesterreich,  1908. 

Die  Juden  in  Rumanien,  1908. 

Das  jiidische  Genossenschaftswesen  in  Russland,  1911. 

Die  herujlichen  und  sozialen  V erhaltnisse  der  Juden  in 
Deutschland,  1912. 

Zeitschrift  fur  Demographie  und  Statistik  der  Juden,  from 

1905 

Jiidische  Statistik,  edited  by  Dr.  Alfred  Nossig.  Berlin,  1903. 
Jacobs,  J.,  Studies  in  Jewish  Statistics.  London,  1891. 

Annual  Reports  of  the  following  Organizations  :  Jewish 
Colonization  Association,  Zionist  Organization,  Anglo- Jewish 
Association,  “  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,”  “  Hilfsverein  der 
deutschen  Juden,”  “  Israelitische  Allianz  zu  Wien,”  American 
Jewish  Committee,  Board  of  Deputies  of  British  Jews. 

Jewish  Year-Book,  edited  by  the  Rev.  I.  Harris,  M.A.,  London. 
American  Jewish  Year-Book,  Jewish  Publication  Society  of  America, 
Philadelphia. 

Jewish  Encyclopedia,  12  vols.  New  York,  1901--06. 

II.  SOCIAL  ASPECT 

Adler,  Elkan  N.,  Jews  in  Many  Lands.  London,  1905. 

Billings,  J.  S.,  Vital  Statistics  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States. 
Washington,  1890. 


352 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  353 

Fishberg,  Dr.  Maurice,  The  Jews  :  A  Study  of  Race  and  Environ¬ 
ment.  London,  1911. 

Hapgood,  Hutchins,  The  Spirit  of  the  Ghetto.  New  York,  1902. 
James,  Dr.  Edmund  J.  (edited  by),  The  Immigrant  Jew  in  America. 
New  York,  1907. 

Mandelstamm,  Dr.  Max,  Report  of  Physical  Condition  of  the  Jews. 
London, 1900. 

Reports  of  the  Board  of  Guardians  for  the  Relief  of  the  Jewish  Poor, 
London,  and  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities,  New  York. 
Ripley,  W.  Z.,  The  Races  of  Europe.  New  York,  1899. 

Ruppin,  Dr.  Arthur,  Die  Juden  der  Gegenwart.  Leipzig,  1911. 
(English  translation  by  Margery  Bentwich,  The  Jews  of  To- 
Day.  London,  1913.) 

Russell,  Charles,  and  H.  S.  Lewis,  The  Jew  in  London.  London, 
1901. 

Theilhaber,  Dr.  Felix  A.,  Der  TJntergang  der  deutschen  Juden. 
Munich,  1911. 

Zollschan,  Dr.  Ignaz,  Das  Rassenproblem.  Vienna,  1912. 


III.  POLITICAL  ASPECT 

Abbott,  G.  F.,  Israel  in  Europe.  London,  1907. 

Anin,  Maxim,  Der  jiidische  Sozialismus  und  seine  Stromungen,  in 
“  Judischer  Almanach,  5670.”  Vienna,  1910. 

Davitt,  Michael,  Within  the  Pale.  London,  1903. 

Die  Judenpogrome  in  Russland ,  2  vols.  Leipzig,  1910. 

Feldmann,  J.,  The  Jews  in  Yemen.  London,  1912. 

Graetz,  Heinrich,  Geschichte  der  Juden ,  11  vols.  Leipzig,  1882. 
(Eng.  translation,  History  of  the  Jews ,  5  vols.  London,  1892.) 

Hyamson,  A.  M.,  History  of  the  Jews  in  England.  London,  1908. 

J ahresbericht  des  Zentral-Komitees  des  V erbandes  der  einheimischen 
Juden  (von  Rumanien).  Berlin,  1912. 

Loewenthal,  Dr.  Max  J.,  Das  jiidische  Bekenntnis  als  Hinderungs- 
grund  bei  der  Beforderung  zum  preussischen  Reserveoffizier. 
Berlin,  1911. 

Nathan,  Dr.  Paul,  Die  Juden  als  Soldaten.  Berlin,  1896. 

Piiilippson,  Prof.  Martin,  Neueste  Geschichte  des  j-iidischen  Volkes , 
3  vols.  Leipzig,  1907. 

Schwarzfeld,  Elias  (“  Edmond  Sincerus  ”),  Les  Juifs  en  Rou- 
manie  depuis  le  Traite  de  Berlin.  London,  1911. 

SfcMfcNOFF,  E.,  The  Russian  Government  and  the  Massacres.  London, 
1907. 

Singer,  Isidore,  Russia  at  the  Bar  of  the  American  People.  New 
York,  1904. 

Steed,  H.  Wickham,  The  Hapsburg  Monarchy.  London,  1913. 

Wiernik,  Peter,  History  of  the  Jews  in  America.  New  York,  1912. 
23 


354  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 

Wolf,  Lucien,  The  Legal  Sufferings  of  the  Jews  in  Russia.  London, 
191*2. 

Wolf,  Simon,  The  American  Jew  as  Patriot ,  Soldier ,  and  Philanthro¬ 
pist.  Philadelphia,  1895. 


IV.  ECONOMIC  ASPECT 

Annual  Reports  of  the  Hebrew  Sheltering  and  Immigrant  Aid 
Society.  New  York,  from  1909,  in  progress. 

Evans-Gordon,  W.,  The  Alien  Immigrant.  London,  1903. 

Hall,  Prescott  F.,  Immigration  and  its  Effects  upon  the  United 
States.  New  York,  1907. 

Hoffmann,  Dr.  M.,  Judentum  und  Kapitalismus.  Berlin,  1912. 

Hourwich,  Isaac  A.,  Immigration  and  Labour.  New  York,  1913. 

Jenks,  J.  W.,  and  W.  J.  Lauck,  The  Immigration  Problem.  3rd 
edit.  New  York,  1914. 

Jewish  Immigration  Bulletin ,  New  York.  From  1912,  in  progress. 

Kaplun-Kogan,  W.  W.,  Die  W anderbewegungen  der  Juden.  Bonn, 
I9I3- 

Landa,  M.  J.,  The  Alien  Problem  and  Us  Remedy.  London,  1911. 

Minutes  of  Evidence  taken  before  the  Royal  Commission  on  Alien 
Immigration.  London,  1903. 

Press,  Jesaias,  Die  jiidischen  Kolonien  Palastinas.  Leipzig,  1912. 

Robinson,  Leonard  G.,  The  Agricultural  Activities  of  the  Jews  in 
America.  American  Jewish  Year-Book,  5673.  Philadelphia, 
I9i3- 

Rubinow,  J.  M.,  Economic  Condition  of  the  Jews  in  Russia.  Bulle¬ 
tin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor,  Washington,  1907. 

Sombart,  Prof.  Werner,  Die  Juden  und  das  Wirtschaftsleben. 
Leipzig,  1911.  (Eng.  translation  by  Dr.  M.  Epstein,  The  Jews 
and  Modern  Capitalism.  London,  1913.) 


V.  INTELLECTUAL  ASPECT 

Bialik,  Ch.  N.,  Gedichte.  Aus  dem  Hebraischen  ubertragen  von 
Ernst  Muller.  Cologne,  i  91  i. 

Education  in  Russia.  Board  of  Education,  Special  Reports,  vol.  23. 
London, 1909. 

Ginzberg,  Asher,  Selected  Essays  by  A  chad  Ha’ am.  Translated  by 
Leon  Simon.  Philadelphia,  1912. 

Heppner,  Ernst,  Juden  als  Erfinder  und  Entdecker.  Berlin,  1913. 
Kisselhoff,  S.,  Das  judische  Volkslied.  Berlin,  1913. 

Levy,  Rev.  S.,  Original  Virtue ,  and  other  Short  Studies.  London, 
1907. 

Loewe,  Dr.  Heinrich,  Die  Sprachen  der  Juden.  Cologne,  1911. 
Martens,  Kurt,  Liter atur  in  Deutschland.  Berlin,  1910. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  355 

Pines,  Dr.  M.,  Histoire  de  la  Litter ature  Judeo-Allemande.  Paris, 
191 1. 

Raisin,  Jacob  S.,  The  Haskalah  Movement  in  Russia.  Philadelphia, 

1913- 

Rhine,  Abraham  B.,  Leon  Gordon.  Philadelphia,  1910. 

Slousch,  Nahum,  La  Renaissance  de  la  Litterature  Hebraique. 
Paris,  1903. 

- La  Potsie  Lyrique  Hebraique  Contemporaine.  Paris,  1911. 

Wiener,  Leo,  The  History  of  Yiddish  Literature.  London,  1899. 

VI.  RELIGIOUS  ASPECT 

Abrahams,  Israel,  Judaism.  London,  1907. 

Friedlander,  Dr.  Michael,  The  Jewish  Religion.  London,  1891. 
Gidney,  Rev.  W.  T.,  Missions  to  Jews.  London,  1912. 

Joseph,  Rev.  Morris,  Judaism  as  Creed  and  Life.  London,  1903. 
Montefiore,  Claude  G.,  Liberal  Judaism.  London,  1903. 
Philipson,  Dr.  David,  The  Reform  Movement  in  Judaism.  London, 
1907. 

Roi,  Lie.  Joh.  de  le,  Judentaufen  im  ig  Jahrhundert.  Leipzig, 
1899. 

Samter,  Dr.  N.,  Judentaufen  im  ig  J ahrhundert.  Berlin,  1906. 
Schechter,  Dr.  Solomon,  Studies  in  Judaism.  London,  1st 
Series,  1896  ;  2nd  Series,  1908. 

VII.  NATIONAL  ASPECT 

Auerbach,  Dr.  Elias,  Palaesiina  als  Judenland.  Berlin,  1912. 
Cohen,  Israel,  Zionist  Work  in  Palestine.  London,  191 1. 

- The  Zionist  Movement.  London,  1912. 

Friedemann,  Adolf,  Das  Leben  Theodor  Herzls.  Berlin,  1914. 
Gottheil,  Prof.  Richard,  Zionism.  Philadelphia,  1914. 

Herzl,  Dr.  Theodor,  Zionistische  Schriften.  Berlin. 

Johnston,  Sir  Harry  H.,  Common  Sense  in  Foreign  Policy. 
London,  1913. 

Leroy-Beaulieu,  Anatole,  Israel  chez  les  Nations.  Paris,  1893. 
(Eng.  translation  by  F.  Hellman,  Israel  among  the  Nations. 
London,  1894.) 

Levy,  Rev.  S.,  Zionism  and  Liberal  Judaism.  London,  1911. 
Nawratzki,  Dr.  Curt,  Die  jiidische  Kolonisation  Palastinas. 
Munich,  1914. 

Nordau,  Dr.  Max,  Zionistische  Schriften.  Cologne,  1909. 
Oppenheimer,  Dr.  Franz,  Merchavia  :  A  Co-operative  Colony  in 
Palestine.  New  York,  1914. 

Reports  of  the  Actions-Comite  der  Zionistischen  Organisation. 
Cologne,  1911,  and  Berlin,  1913. 

Ruppin,  Dr.  Arthur,  Zionistische  Kolonisationspolitik.  Berlin, 
1914. 


356  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Sombart,  Prof.  Werner,  Die  Zukunft  dev  Juden.  Leipzig,  1912. 
Trietsch,  Davis,  Palaestina  Iiandbuch.  3rd  edit.  Berlin,  1912. 
Tschlenoff,  Dr.  E.  W.,  Funf  Jahre  dev  Arbeit  in  'Palaestina. 
Berlin,  1913. 

Some  of  the  chapters  of  this  book  appeared  in  their  first 
form  in  the  following  periodicals :  Sociological  Review ,  Economic 
Journal ,  Jewish  Review ,  Knowledge ,  Churchman ,  New  Statesman , 
American  Hebrew ,  Jewish  Comment ,  Reform  Advocate ,  and  Inquirer. 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


Abyssinia,  Jews  of,  n,  115 
Achuzah  Companies,  336 
Actors,  259 

Adaptability  of  Jewish  immigrants, 
39 

Adultery,  Rabbinical  view  of,  120. 
Africa,  Jewish  population  of,  5,  11. 

See  also  South  Africa 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
337 

Agriculture,  85 ;  in  Russia,  154, 
196-7 ;  in  Austria,  197 ;  in 
Germany,  198 ;  in  America, 
198-9;  in  Palestine,  200-1,  328, 
333.  335-7  J  as  represented 

among  Russian  emigrants,  322 
Airship,  invention  of,  263 
Albanians,  compared  with  Jews, 
320 

Algeria,  Jewish  population  of,  11  ; 

emancipation,  144 
Alien  immigration,  167 ;  Royal 
Commission,  121,  122,  124; 

restrictions,  221,  309 
Aliens  Act,  adoption  of,  168 
“Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,” 
educational  work  of,  16,  25,  85, 
200,  202,  235,  339  ;  agricultural 
school  of,  328 
Almshouses,  84 

Alsace,  Jews  of,  136 ;  consistories, 
272 

America,  Jewish  population  of,  5, 
12 ;  immigration  to,  12.  See 
also  United  States 
American  Jewish  Committee,  167 
American  Zionists,  Palestinian 
colony  founded  by,  336 
Amorites,  an  element  in  the  forma¬ 
tion  of  the  Jewish  type,  1 14 
Amsterdam,  Jewish  population  of, 
10 ;  criminality,  98 ;  mixed 
marriages,  305 
Anglicization,  policy  of,  39 
Anglo- Jewish  Association,  16,  25, 
236,  339 


Anglo-Levantine  Banking  Com¬ 
pany,  333 

Anglo-Palestine  Company,  332, 
334-5 

Angola,  projected  Jewish  settle¬ 
ment  in,  325 

Anthropological  characteristics  of 
Jews,  hi,  seq. 

Anti-Semitism,  97,  175 ;  in  uni¬ 
versities,  105 ;  in  Russia,  154, 
157;  in  Rumania,  162;  in  Ger¬ 
many,  174,  202,  256,  258,  260, 
298 ;  relations  with  assimilation, 
315-6 

Apprenticing  of  boys,  81,  91 
Arabia,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
ritual,  276 

Arabs,  in  Palestinian  colonies,  336  ; 
relations  to  Jewish  colonists, 
341-2 

Aragonian  ritual,  276 
Archaeology,  contributions  to,  262  5 
discoveries,  265 

Argentine,  Jewish  population  of, 
13 ;  agricultural  colonies,  85, 
198-9  ;  immigration  to,  220 
Army,  Jews  in  the.  See  Military 
Service 
Arson,  95,  97 
Art,  Jewish,  252 
Art-dealing,  185 
Artists,  251,  260 

Aryans,  relation  to  Jewish  origins, 
114 

Ashkenazim,  19,  275,  276 
Asia,  Jewish  population  of,  5,  10 
Assimilation,  doctrine  of,  20  ; 
process  of,  21  ;  in  the  home,  59  ; 
favoured  by  declining  increase, 
132 ;  progress  of,  3I3~4  5  re¬ 
lation  to  Zionism,  330-2 
Asthma,  124 
Athletics,  107 

Atonement,  Day  of,  76,  283,  286 
Australasia,  Jewish  population  of, 
14;  Jews  as  statesmen  and 


357 


358  JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

judges,  173-4;  immigration  to, 
220-1  ;  mixed  marriages  in,  306 
Austria,  Jewish  population  of,  8  ; 
criminality,  92,  98  ;  suicides,  129  ; 
birth-rate,  130;  natural  in¬ 
crease,  1 3 1-2  ;  civil  emancipa¬ 
tion,  140-2 ;  representative 
political  association,  167  ;  politi¬ 
cal  activity,  169  ;  Jewish  Minister 
of  Commerce,  173 ;  military 
officers,  176 ;  commercial  acti¬ 
vity,  186-7;  industries,  190; 
economic  conditions,  207  ;  emi¬ 
gration,  215;  religious  organiza¬ 
tion,  272  ;  conversions,  299  ; 
mixed  marriages,  304 
Auto-Emancipation,  328 
Automobiles,  invention  of,  263 
Autonomy  in  Palestine,  340 

Baal  Shem  Tob,  45,  278 
Babylonia,  racial  characteristics 
derived  from,  114,  116;  Tal- 
mudical  academies,  277,  278,  280 
Baden,  suicide  in,  129  ;  emancipa¬ 
tion,  1 41  ;  congregational  ad¬ 
ministration,  272 
Badge,  mediaeval,  141 
Balkan  War,  relief  of  Jewish 
victims,  28,  87  ;  effect  upon  Jews 
in  Dobrudja,  164;  Jewish  par¬ 
ticipation  in,  176  ;  economic  effect 
upon  Jews,  208,  212-3 ;  effect 
upon  Turkey,  340 
Bankers,  Jews  as,  188-90 
Bankruptcy,  fraudulent,  96 
Banks,  Zionist,  332-5 
Baptisms.  See  Conversions 
Bar-Mit  vah,  47,  100 
Baronetcy,  Jewish  members  of,  175 
Basle,  Zionist  Congress  at,  330  ; 

Basle  Programme,  330 
Baths,  1 19 

Bavaria,  mortality  in,  12 1  ;  suicide 
in,  129;  birth-rate,  129;  mixed 
marriages,  305 
Bazaar,  103 
Beilis  trial,  158 

Belgium,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
consistories,  138,  272 ;  emanci¬ 
pation,  144  ;  immigration,  220 
Ben  Shamen,  337 
Benefit  Societies,  104 
Berlin,  Jewish  population  of,  9  ; 
charity  expenditure,  83;  Jewish 
proportion  of  income-tax,  206 ; 
Rabbinical  seminaries,  274  ;  con¬ 
versions,  301  ;  mixed  marriages, 
305 


MODERN  TIMES 

Berliner  Tageblatt,  257 
“  Berliners,"  248 

Berlitz  method  and  Hebrew,  233 
Beth  Din,  90,  273,  274 
Beth  Hamidr ash,  124,  270,  317 
Betrothal,  ceremony  of,  42 
Betting,  91 

Bezalel  School,  333,  337 
Bill  exchange,  institution  of,  184 
“  Birds  of  passage,”  218 
Birth,  customs  at,  45  ;  birth-rate, 
129,  130  ;  births  of  mixed  mar¬ 
riages,  306-7 
Black  Death,  123 
Black  Jews,  115 
Blond  type,  112 

Blood,  draining  of,  51,  53 ;  as 
hygienic  factor,  119 
Blood  accusation.  See  “  Ritual 
murder  ” 

Bnei  Brith,  Independent  Order,  79, 
104 

Board  of  Deputies,  90,  167 
Board  of  Guardians,  79,  80,  83,  125 
Bohemia,  Jewish  advocacy  v. 

German  element  in,  258 
Bookplates,  252 
Books,  distinctive  Jewish,  50 
Botanists,  eminent,  262 
Brachycephaly,  113,  114 
Brazil,  agricultural  colonization  in, 
199 

Breslau,  Jewish  income  in,  206  ; 

Rabbinical  seminary,  274 
British  Colonies,  immigration  to, 
11,  14,  214,  220-1  ;  Jewish 

statesmen  and  judges  in,  173-4  ; 
promotion  of  trade  by  Jews,  184 
British  Isles,  Jewish  population  of,  9 
Bronchitis,  124 
Brunette  type,  112 
Brussels,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
conference  at,  27 

Budapest,  Jewish  population  of, 
9  ;  Jewish  Burgomaster  of,  175  ; 
typhoid  fever,  124 ;  communal 
taxes,  213  ;  Rabbinical  seminary, 
274 ;  conversions,  300 ;  mixed 
marriages,  305. 

Bulgaria,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
death-rate,  12 1  ;  birth-rate,  130  ; 
marriage-rate,  131  ;  emancipa¬ 
tion,  144,  159  ;  schools,  236 
Bund,  178 
Burial  society,  271 
Business  capacity  of  Jews,  185. 
See  also  Commerce 


Cabinets,  Jews  in,  172-4 


359 


INDEX  OF 

Caf6s,  frequenting  of ,  109 
Canada,  Jewish  population  of,  13  ; 
emancipation,  144;  agricul¬ 
tural  colonization,  199 ;  immi¬ 
gration,  220-1 
Cancer,  124 
Cantor,  269,  270,  285 
Card-playing,  91,  101 
Carlsbad,  no,  126 
Castilian  ritual,  276 
Catalonian  ritual,  276 
Celibacy,  Rabbinical  view  of,  40  ; 

increase  of,  130,  131 
Cemetery,  270,  271 
Cephalic  index,  113 
Ceremonies,  at  marriage,  43 ;  at 
birth,  45  ;  on  the  Sabbath,  62, 
65  ;  on  Passover,  67 
Chalukah,  212 
Chanucah,  49,  69,  289 
Charity,  as  basic  principle  of  Jewish 
life,  75  ;  in  mediaeval  times,  77  ; 
modern  principles  and  methods, 
78  ;  prevalence  in  Russia,  209 
Charter,  for  Palestine,  332,  340 
Chassidim,  dress  of,  34 ;  founder 
of,  45,  244 ;  sect  of,  231,  278,  284 
Chastity,  70,  89 
Chazan,  269,  283 
Chazars,  7,  115 

Cheder,  225-6,  231,  233,  270,  284 
Chess,  63,  101,  185  ;  champions,  262 
Chest  measurement,  1 1 8 
Chevra  Kadisha,  104,  271 
Chevroih,  271 

Chicago,  Jewish  population  of,  13; 
child  mortality,  122 ;  Sinai  con¬ 
gregation,  288 
Child  labour,  193 

Children,  love  of,  45  ;  death-rate  of, 
122  ;  maternal  care  of,  122  ; 
diseases  of,  126 
China,  J  ews  of,  1 1 ,  1 1 5 
Choir,  mixed,  278,  285,  287 
Cholera,  123 
Chovevei  Zion,  200,  328 
Christian  Germanism,  141 
Christianity,  conversions  to,  291- 
302 

Christmas,  Jewish  observance  of, 
289 

Church,  attitude  towards  Jews,  133, 
291 

Cincinnatti,  Rabbinical  seminary 
at,  274 

Circumcision,  46,  126 
Civil  rights,  acquisition  of,  135-44  i 
defence  of,  167,  172 
Civil  sendee,  Jews  in,  174 


SUBJECTS 

Clannishness,  255 
Cleanliness,  personal,  59,  119  ;  of 
the  home,  61,  119,  125 
Clothing  industry,  191  ;  in  Russia, 
193  ;  in  England  and  America, 
194,  218 

Clubs,  82,  91,  102 
Cochin,  J  ews  of,  1 1 
Code,  religious.  See  Shulchan 
Aruch 

Colonial  governor,  Jew  as,  174 
Colonial  Trust,  Jewish,  332 
Colonies,  agricultural,  85  ;  in 
Russia,  154,  196-7;  in  America, 
1:98-9  ;  in  Palestine,  200-1,  336 
Colour  photography,  discoverer  of, 
263 

Commerce,  Jews  engaged  in,  182-7 
Jewish  influence  upon  world's 
trade,  184 

Commercial  occupations,  offences 
in,  96 

Communistic  groups  in  Russia,  179 
Community,  institutions  of,  24  ; 
character  and  variety  of  com¬ 
munities,  32  ;  origin  of  Eastern 
communities,  33  ;  of  Western 
communities,  36,  134 ;  conserv¬ 
ing  force  of  communal  organiza¬ 
tion,  317 

Complexion,  characteristics  of,  122, 
seq. 

Composers,  musical,  260 
Concerts,  102 

Conferences,  international  J  ewish, 
27 

Confessionslos,  300 
Confirmation,  47 

Congregation,  development  of,  269- 
7i 

Congress  of  Vienna,  141  ;  Zionist 
Congresses,  330 
Consistories,  138,  272 
Constantinople,  effect  of  Balkan 
War  upon  community,  213 
Consumption,  125 
Contagious  diseases,  123 
Conversions  to  Christianity,  210, 
291-302 

Cookery,  peculiarities  of,  53 
Co-operative  basis  of  Palestinian 
colonies,  333 

Co-operative  loan  societies,  334 
Copenhagen,  mixed  marriages  in, 

305,  307 

Cosmopolitan  organization  depre¬ 
cated,  27 

Court  of  judgment,  273 
Cracow,  child  mortality  in,  122 


36o  JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

Cradle-songs,  71 
Creeds,  281 

Crimean  War,  Jews  in,  155 
Criminality,  Jewish,  exaggerated, 
89  ;  juvenile,  91  ;  compared  with 
general  criminality,  93,  seq.  ;  de¬ 
termined  by  economic  conditions, 
96 

Croup,  126 

Crusades,  as  instrument  of  con¬ 

version,  291 

Culture,  characteristics  of  Jewish, 
72  ;  scope  of,  239,  seq. ;  culture  of 
a  Jewish  national  settlement,  323 
Customs,  at  marriage,  43  ;  at 

birth,  45 ;  in  the  homes,  48, 

seq.  ;  at  death,  73.  See  also 
Ceremonies 

Cyrenaica,  Jewish  population  of, 
11  ;  settlement  projected  in,  325 

Dagania,  colony  at,  336 
Dancing,  in  Eastern  circles,  71  ; 

at  weddings,  100 
Daniel  Deronda,  328 
Death,  rites  observed  at,  73 ; 

death-rate,  12 1-3 

Denmark,  emancipation  in,  144  ; 
Jewish  Minister  of  Finance,  173  ; 
mixed  marriages  in,  305 
Department  stores,  185 
Destiny  of  Israel,  278 
Diabetes,  125 
Diarrhoea,  126 

Dietary  regulations,  51  ;  peculi¬ 
arities,  53  ;  disregard  of,  55, 
286,  287  ;  influence  upon  health, 
119 

Dinners,  public,  103 
Diphtheria,  126 

Diplomatic  service,  Jews  in,  174 
Disabilities,  in  mediaeval  times, 
135,  seq.  ;  in  Persia,  145  ;  in 
Yemen,  145  ;  in  Russia,  146-58  ; 
in  Rumania,  159-65 
Disease,  immunity  from,  118,  123, 
seq. 

Dispersion,  scope  of,  2  ;  causes  of, 
2-3  ;  general  survey  of,  5,  seq. 
Disputations,  mediaeval,  291 
Dissolution,  forces  of,  309 
Divorce,  ground  for,  45  ;  bills  of,  273 
Dobrudja,  Jews  in  the,  161,  164-5 
Dock  labourers,  193 
Dolichocephalic  type,  113 
Donmeh,  171,  277 
“  Dorcas”  guilds,  103 
Dowry,  importance  of,  41  ;  for 
poor  girls,  76,  80 


MODERN  TIMES 

Drama,  Yiddish,  109,  251 ;  in 

Hebrew,  251,  340 
Dramatists,  259 
Dress,  distinctions  of,  34,  55 
Dreyfus  affair,  316 
Drinking,  recommended  on  Purim, 
70  ;  customary  toast,  72  ; 
sobriety,  89,  90,  120,  124 
Duelling,  97,  106 
Duma,  169,  171 
Dyspepsia,  no,  125 

Eastern  Jewry,  compared  with 
Western,  4,  16,  129  ;  character¬ 
istics  of,  18,  34  ;  differences 

between  Jews  of  Eastern  Europe 
and  of  the  Orient,  35  ;  economic 
conditions  of,  207-13  ;  assimila¬ 
tion  of,  314 
Eczema,  126 

Education,  in  Eastern  Jewry,  85, 
235  ;  early  age  for  beginning, 
128  ;  in  mediaeval  times,  225-7  '■> 
in  modern  times,  227-38  ;  re¬ 
ligious,  270,  289  ;  effect  of 

modern  education,  312  ;  necessity 
of  national  education  system, 

323 

Egypt,  exodus  from,  67  ;  immigra¬ 
tion  to,  220 

Electric  automobile,  invention  of, 
263 

Electro-thermometer,  invention  of, 
263 

Ellis  Island,  221 

Emancipation,  in  France,  136-8 ; 
in  Italy,  138  ;  in  Holland,  139  ; 
in  Germany,  139-41  ;  in  Austria, 
140-2  ;  disintegrating  effects  of, 
3 1 1-4 

Emigration,  causes  of,  35,  134,  213  ; 
character  of,  216-7  ;  effect  on 
family  life,  89  ;  effect  on  philan¬ 
thropic  organizations,  318 ;  re¬ 
lief  work,  86,  222  ;  from  Galicia, 
215-6 ;  from  Germany,  12,  34, 
97  ;  from  Rumania,  164,  215, 
216  ;  from  Russia,  13,  35,  86, 
154,  158,  215,  322 
Emigration  Bank,  222 
England,  Jewish  population  of,  9  ; 
criminality,  93 ;  friendly  socie¬ 
ties,  104  ;  students’  societies, 
106  ;  Naturalization  Act,  135  ; 
civil  emancipation,  142-3  ;  politi- 
tical  activity,  167-8;  Jewish 
statesmen,  173  ;  military  service, 
177  ;  commercial  activity,  187  ; 
immigration,  220-2  ;  ecclesiasti- 


361 


INDEX  OF 

cal  organization,  271  ;  secessions 
to  Christianity,  293,  299 
Environment,  influence  upon  home 
life,  59,  70  ;  influence  upon 

racial  traits,  113,  116 ;  upon 

physique,  118,  upon  mortality, 
123  ;  upon  health,  126 
Erez  Israel  Settlement  Association, 
333 

Esperanto,  266 
Esther,  Book  of,  283 
Ethical  culture,  propagation  of, 
266  ;  adoption  of,  288 
Europe,  Jewish  population  of,  5 
Exhibitions,  organizing  of,  266 
Exploration,  254,  265 
Expulsion,  from  Spain,  34,  184, 
214,  215  ;  from  the  Hanse  towns, 
141  ;  from  Kieff,  Siberia,  etc.,  151 
Eye,  characteristic  colour  of,  112  ; 
diseases  of,  126 

Factories,  in  Austria,  190  ;  in 
Rumania,  190  ;  in  Russia,  191-3 
Falashas,  115 

Family,  importance  of,  in  Jewish 
life,  40  ;  customs,  41,  seq.  ; 
Sabbath  reunion,  63  ;  Passover 
reunion,  68  ;  moral  purity  of, 
88,  120 ;  festivities,  100  ;  dim¬ 
inution  of  children,  130,  206 
Farming.  See  Agriculture 
Fasts,  70  ;  Fast  of  Ab,  283 
Federation  of  Synagogues,  271 
Female  labour,  in  Russia,  193  ;  in 
Germany,  194 
Fencing,  331 

Festivals,  peculiarities  of  cuisine 
on,  54 ;  domestic  celebration  of,  66 
Fever.  See  Scarlet  fever  and 
Typhoid  fever 

Financial  activity,  188-90,  204 
“  Fire-woman,”  65 
Fish,  popularity  of,  53 
Folk-songs,  71,  100,  244 
Folk-tales,  244 

France,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
civil  emancipation,  136  ;  es¬ 
tablishment  of  consistories,  138  ; 
Jewish  statesmen,  173  ;  military 
officers,  176  ;  immigration,  220  ; 
ecclesiastical  organization,  272  ; 
moribund  condition  of  French 
Jewry,  316 ;  French  Constitu¬ 
tion,  319 

Franco-Prussian  War,  176,  188 
Frankfort,  National  Parliament  at, 
14  ;  income  of  Jews  in,  207  ; 
mixed  marriages,  305 


SUBJECTS 

Frankfurter  Zeitung,  257 
Frankists,  278 
Fraternal  orders,  104 
Freethinkers,  300 
French  Academy,  Jewish  member 
of,  261. 

French  Revolution,  as  liberator  of 
Jewry,  133 

Friendly  societies,  104 

Gaberdines,  worn  in  Poland,  34,  55 
Galicia,  Jewish  population  of,  8-9  ; 
distinctions  of  dress,  55  ;  rate  of 
suicide,  129  ;  birth-rate,  130  ; 
natural  increase,  132  ;  political 
conditions,  170  ;  commercial 
activity,  187  ;  industries,  190  ; 
economic  conditions,  208,  21 1  ; 
emigration,  215-16  ;  education, 
231  ;  conversions,  299  ;  mixed 
marriages,  305 

Galveston,  immigration  via,  20, 
222 

Gemara,  280 

Genius,  of  the  Jews,  255  ;  be¬ 
friending  of,  260 
Geographical  discoveries,  265 
Germany,  Jewish  population  of, 
9  ;  orphanages,  83  ;  criminality, 
92,  96,  97  ;  students'  societies, 
105  ;  athletic  societies,  107  ; 
death-rate,  12 1,  122  ;  rate  of 
suicide,  129  ;  birth-rate,  129- 
30  ;  marriage-rate,  131  ;  natural 
increase,  131 

- Civil  emancipation,  139-41; 

restriction  of  Russo -Jewish 
students  at  Universities,  153,  234  ; 
political  organizations,  167  ; 
political  activity,  169,  174 

- Commercial  activity,  186; 

financial  pursuits,  189-90  ;  in¬ 
dustries,  190  ;  female  labour, 
194;  liberal  professions  and  civil 
service,  202  ;  economic  pros¬ 
perity,  206  ;  immigration,  220 

- Jewish  literary  activity,  252-3  ; 

contributions  to  German  liter¬ 
ature,  256  ;  religious  organiza¬ 
tion,  272  ;  conversions,  301  ; 
mixed  marriages,  305 
Ghetto,  in  mediaeval  times,  31  ;  in 
Oriental  countries,  34  ;  in 
Western  countries,  37,  seq.  ;  law- 
abiding  character,  90  ;  pastimes, 
1 01  ;  theatres,  108  ;  as  con¬ 
servator  of  Jewish  type,  116  ; 
influence  upon  occupations,  183  ; 
in  Italy,  138  ;  in  Austria,  141  ; 


362  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


in  Morocco,  145;  as  conservation 
of  Jewish  life,  310-1 
Girls,  confirmation  of,  47 
Glauber  salts,  discoverer  of,  263 
Government  service,  Jews  in,  202-3 
Grace  before  meat,  60 ;  after  meat,  63 
Graetzin  light,  inventor  of,  263 
Gramophone,  invention  of,  263 
Greece,  Jewish  population  of,  10 
Greeting,  modes  of,  72 
Gymnasium  (High  School),  at 
Jaffa,  338,  341 
Gymnastics,  107 

Hadamard’s  theorem,  262 
Hague  Conferences,  266 
Haifa,  332,  337  ;  Technical  Insti¬ 
tute  at,  339 

Hair,  dressing  of,  56;  colour  of ,  112 
Hashachar,  250 
Haskalah,  245 
Hattarat  Hovaah,  274 
Head,  covering  of,  56,  59  ;  types 
of,  113 

Health  conditions,  118,  seq.  ;  in 
Palestine,  338 

Health  resorts,  109  ;  in  Russia,  151 
Heart  disease,  124 
Hebrew,  education,  225-6,  237  ; 
literature,  247-51  ;  language, 
247-8  ;  as  national  tongue,  323  ; 
education  and  culture  in  Pales¬ 
tine,  338-40 

Height  of  Eastern  Jews,  118 
Hekdesh,  77 
Hemorrhoids,  124 

Heraldic  arms  of  Jewish  nobles,  175 
Hereditv,  influence  upon  health,  1 19 
“  Herzliah,”  338 

Hesse,  infant  mortality  in,  122  ; 
birth-rate,  129  ;  emancipation, 
141 

Higher  Criticism,  influence  upon 
religious  conformity,  287,  289 
“  Hilfsverein  der  deutschen  Juden,” 
16,  25,  85  ;  emigration  relief,  86  ; 
educational  work,  232,  236,  339 
Histadvuth  Ibrith,  251 
Historical  development,  influence 
upon  home  life,  70  ;  upon  the 
nervous  system,  127 
Historical  societies,  253 
Hittites,  relation  to  Jewish  origins, 
114 

Holland,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
natural  increase,  131  ;  civil 
emancipation,  138  ;  Jewish 
Minister  of  Justice,  173  ;  ecclesi¬ 
astical  organization,  272 


Home  life,  formative  forces  in,  58  ; 
religious  facts  in  daily  life,  59- 
60 

Honeymoon,  observance  of,  44 
Hospitality,  63,  76 
Hospitals,  84,  104  ;  missionary, 
296 

Humanism,  advancement  of,  248 
Hungary,  Jewish  population  of,  8  ; 
criminality, 92, 98 ;  death-rate,  121, 
122;  birth-rate,  130;  marriage- 
rate,  1 31  ;  emancipation,  142  ; 
political  conditions,  170  ;  liberal 
professions,  203  ;  conversions, 
300  ;  mixed  marriages,  304  ; 
children  of  mixed  marriages,  307 
Hygienic  regulations,  119 
Hymns,  at  Sabbath  meals,  63  ;  at 
the  close  of  Sabbath,  66,  283 
Hysteria,  127 

“I.C.A.,”  199,  202 
Immigrants,  aid  of,  86  ;  exclusion 
of,  126  ;  industries  introduced 
by,  194  ;  influence  upon  labour 
conditions,  195  ;  economic 
position,  205,  219  ;  occupations 
of,  218  ;  literacy  of,  232-3 
Immigration,  to  America,  12-13, 
20,  163,  214-22  ;  to  the  Argen¬ 
tine,  198  ;  to  Palestine,  200  ;  to 
Australasia,  14  ;  effect  upon 
Western  communities,  39 
Impresarios,  260 
Inbreeding,  116 

India,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 

Black  Jews,  115 
Industrial  pursuits,  190-6 
Insanity,  127 

Intellectual  activity  of  Western 
Jewry,  16  ;  of  Eastern  Jewry, 
35,  223,  seq. 

Intermarriage.  See  Mixed  mar¬ 
riages 

International  Agricultural  Insti¬ 
tute,  266 

International  conferences,  27 
Inquisition,  138,  291,  293 
“  Israelitische  Allianz,”  25,  85,  86 
Italy,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
civil  emancipation,  138  ;  Jewish 
statesmen,  172  ;  army  officers, 
177  ;  commercial  activity,  186  ; 
financial  pursuits,  190  ;  liberal 
professions,  203  ;  economic 
position,  207  ;  emigrants  from, 
217  ;  religious  indifference,  286  ; 
mixed  marriages,  305 
”  I.T.O.,”  325 


INDEX  OF 

“  Jacobsonian  organ,”  265 
Jaffa,  seat  of  Anglo-Palestine  Com¬ 
pany,  332 

Japan,  Jewish  population  of,  10 
“  Jargon,”  243,  245 
Jerusalem,  Jewish  population  of, 
10  ;  symbol  of  its  destruction, 
49  ;  token  of  grief  for,  53  ; 
schools,  236  ;  destruction  of,  279; 
lace  workrooms  at,  338  ;  Hebrew 
University,  339  ;  National 
Library,  340 

Jewish  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  201 

Jewish  Agricultural  and  Industrial 
Aid  Society,  199 
Jewish  Chronicle,  164 
Jewish  Colonization  Association, 
13  ;  establishment  of,  25,  198  ; 
philanthropic  activity,  85,  86, 
196,  199,  201,  202,  209,  232,  233, 
317 

Jewish  Encyclopedia,  252 
Jewish  Lads’  Brigade,  108 
Jewish  National  Fund,  collecting- 
box  of,  49  ;  establishment  of, 
333-  335 

Jewish  Publication  Society  of 
America,  253 
Jewish  State,  The,  329 
Jewish  Territorial  Organization,  20, 
26,  86,  222,  324-5 
Journalism,  activity  in,  257 
Judeo-Arabic,  34,  243,  31 1 
Judeo-German.  See  Yiddish 
Judeo-Persian,  243 
Judeo-Spanish,  243,  31 1.  See  also 
Ladino 

Judges,  Jews  as,  174 
Jurisprudence,  contributions  to,  262 

Kaddish,  45,  74,  284 
“  Kadimah  ”  society,  105 
Karaites,  16,  115,  277 
Kashrus,  274 

Kattowitz,  Conference  at,  328 
Kedem,  Culture  Fund,  333 
Kitchen,  orthodox  arrangements,  51 
Kittel,  287 
Klesmer,  44 
Kliatsche,  Die,  245 
Knighthood,  members  of,  175 
Knowledge,  esteem  of,  229-30 
Kosher,  52,  61,  no,  125,  209,  211, 
270,  282 
Kuppah,  76 

Labour  conditions,  in  Rumania, 
191  ;  in  Russia,  191-3  ;  female 


SUBJECTS  363 

and  child  labour,  193  ;  in  England 
and  America,  194-5 
Labour  parties,  in  Russia,  178-9 
Ladino,  origin  of,  34  ;  use  of,  237 
Laissez  faire,  in  Jewish  policy,  330 
Land  Development  Company, 
Palestine,  333,  335 
Land  legislation  in  Palestine,  341 
Land  question  and  nationalism,  324 
Languages,  development  of  Jewish, 
34  ;  courses  for  immigrants,  103  ; 
necessity  of  a  national  language, 
322-3 

Law,  written  and  oral,  279,  312  ; 

Rejoicing  of  the  Law,  284 
Lectures  at  literary  societies,  102 
Leipzig  fairs,  184 
Lemberg,  Jewish  population  of,  9 
Lessing’s  Laokoon,  256  ;  Nathan 
the  Wise,  140 

Levantine  trade,  Jews  engaged  in, 

184 

Liberal  Judaism,  19  ;  Liberal  Syna¬ 
gogue,  288 

Liberal  professions,  202-3,  236 
Libraries,  public,  103,  104,  253 
Lilith,  belief  in,  45 
Literature,  Jewish,  characteristics 
of,  239-42  ;  Yiddish,  242-7 ; 
Hebrew,  247-51  ;  contributions 
to  European,  255,  257 
Litigation,  89 
Liturgy,  275  ;  Reform,  287 
Loan  banks,  in  Russia  and  Galicia, 
85 

Loan  societies,  co-operative,  334 
London,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
charitable  institutions,  79  ;  crim¬ 
inality,  93  ;  athletic  societies, 
107  ;  death-rate,  121  ;  con¬ 
sumption,  125  ;  schools,  229  ; 
Jewish  Lord  Mayors,  175  ;  mem¬ 
bers  of  County  Council,  175  ; 
Rabbinical  seminary,  274 
Longevity,  118,  123 
“  Lovers  of  Zion,”  328-9 
Luftmenschen,  210 

Ma’ase  Buch,  244 
Magistrates,  Jews  as,  175 
Magyarizing  tendency  of  Hun¬ 
garian  Jews,  170 
Malaria,  suppression  of,  338 
Manchester,  death-rate,  121,  122  ; 

smallpox,  124  ;  industries,  194-5 
Manufacturing  pursuits,  190-5 
Marannos,  136 
Marienbad,  no,  126 
Marriage,  age  prescribed  by  Rabbis, 


364  JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

40;  in  Eastern  countries,  41,  in 
Western  countries,  42  ;  customs 
43-4  ;  fidelity,  88  ;  preference  of 
type,  1 17;  marriage-rate,  131. 
See  also  Mixed  marriages 
Marschalik,  44 

Mathematical  science,  contribu¬ 
tions  to,  262 
May  laws,  148,  196,  215 
Mayor,  Jews  as,  175 
Measles,  126 

Meat,  preparation  of,  51,  53,  119 
Mediaeval  disabilities,  135 
Medicine,  study  of,  230  ;  achieve¬ 
ments  in,  263-5 
Melammed,  226 
Mellah,  145 

Mendelssohn,  influence  of,  227, 

244.  293 

“  Menorah  ”  societies,  106 
Merchant  of  Venice,  204 
Merchavia,  336 

Messiah,  belief  in,  191,  278,  281, 
286,  287,  31 1  ;  forerunner  of, 
67 

Mezuzah,  49 

Microbiological  Institute,  338 
Microphone,  invention  of,  263 
Middle  Ages,  economic  restrictions 
in,  182-3  i  intellectual  versatility 
in,  223 

Migrations,  modern  compared  with 
mediaeval,  3  ;  westward  course 
of,  35  ;  probable  effect  of  emanci¬ 
pation  upon,  39 
Mikvah,  1 19,  270 
Mikveh  Israel,  200,  328 
Military  service,  in  Germany,  97 ; 
in  Russia,  118,  154-5  ;  in  Austria, 
203.  See  also  Soldiers 
Mining,  180,  185,  190 
Minstrels,  101 
Mishnah,  225,  279 
Mishneh  Torah,  280 
Mission  of  Israel,  287,  321,  329 
Missionary  activity,  295-9 
Mixed  marriages,  discouraged,  114; 
fertility  of,  115,  307  ;  decision  of 
Paris  Sanhedrin,  137  ;  preval¬ 
ence  of,  302-7 
Monism,  adoption  of,  288 
Montpellier,  medical  school  of,  254 
Morality  of  the  family,  88 
Moravia,  Jews  of,  207  ;  congrega¬ 
tional  administration,  272 
Morocco,  Jewish  language  and  dress 
in,  34  ;  sufferings  in,  35  ;  political 
conditions,  145  ;  schools,  235 
Mortality,  rate  of,  120,  seq. 


MODERN  TIMES 

Mourning  rites,  73 
Municipal  activity,  175 
Murder,  rate  of,  95,  97  ;  Rabbinical 
view  of,  120 

Music,  at  weddings,  100 ;  love  of, 
108;  characteristics  of  Jewish, 
251  ;  composers,  260  ;  influence 
of  Zionism,  331,  340 
Music-hall,  260 

Napoleon  and  Jewish  emancipation, 
137-40 

Nation  or  religious  community, 
320-1 

National  Fund,  Jewish,  333,  335,  338 
Nationalism,  theories  of,  20  ; 
students'  nationalist  societies, 
106  ;  in  Hebrew  literature,  250  ; 
conditions  of  national  restora¬ 
tion,  321-326 

Natural  increase,  rate  of,  131 
Naturalization,  in  Rumania,  160 ; 

societies  for,  166  ;  in  England,  168 
Nervous  diseases,  127 
Neue  Freie  Presse,  257,  258 
New  South  Wales,  occupations  in, 
186 

New  Year,  domestic  celebration  of, 
69 

New  York,  Jews  of,  12,  13  ;  first 
Jewish  settlement  in,  78  ;  charit¬ 
able  institutions,  79,  83 ;  Protec¬ 
tory,  91  ;  criminality,  93  ;  death- 
rate,  1 2 1,  122  ;  typhoid  mortality, 

124  ;  smallpox,  124  ;  consumption, 

125  ;  nervous  diseases,  128  ;  cloth¬ 
ing  industry,  194  ;  schools,  229  ; 
Rabbinical  seminary,  274 

New  York  Globe,  Times,  World,  258 
New  Zealand,  Jewish  popu¬ 
lation  of,  14;  Jewish  Prime 
Minister,  173 

Newspapers,  owned  by  Jews,  257 
Nobel  Prize  awards,  266 
Norway,  emancipation  in,  144 
Nose,  shape  of,  113 
Nursery,  spirit  of,  71  ;  for  poor 
children,  81 

Oath  of  Abjuration,  143 
Oath  more  Judaico,  162 
Oblava,  151 

Occupations,  influence  upon  health, 
123,  124,  125  ;  diversity  of  occu¬ 
pations  described,  182-203  ;  his¬ 
toric  and  religious  factors  affect¬ 
ing,  182-3 

Odessa,  Jewish  population  of,  8 ; 
poverty  in,  210-1 


365 


INDEX  OF 

“  Oesterreichisch-Israelitische  Un¬ 
ion,”  167 

Office  of  Health  (Palestine),  338 
Opera,  Yiddish,  109  ;  comic,  260 
Oral  Law,  278,  279,  285,  312 
Orphanages,  83,  104 
Orthodoxy,  principles  of,  18-9; 
home  features  of,  51  ;  faith  and 
observance,  279-86 
Ovariotomy  introduced  by  Jew,  264 

Painters,  251,  260 
Pale  of  Settlement,  population  of, 
6  ;  history  of,  7,  147  ;  life  in,  17  ; 
Socialist  parties,  178—9 ;  labour 
conditions,  191-3 ;  economic 
conditions,  209 

Palestine,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
gymnastic  societies,  108  ;  agricul¬ 
tural  colonization,  200-1, 328,  333, 
335-7 ;  famine,  208 ;  economic 
conditions,  212  ;  schools,  235-6  ; 
introduction  of  credit,  333-5 ; 
urban  colonization,  337-8 
Palestine  Land  Development  Com¬ 
pany,  333,  335 

Paris,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 
charitable  institutions,  79,  83 ; 
Sanhedrin,  137 
Parliaments,  Jews  in,  17 1-4 
Passover,  special  crockery,  51  ; 
cookery,  54 ;  domestic  celebra¬ 
tion,  67,  286 

Passports,  Russian,  221,  318 
Patriotism,  in  bondage,  50  ;  mani¬ 
fested  in  battles  and  political  life, 
134  ;  discussed  by  Paris  Assembly 
of  Notables,  137  ;  shown  in  wars 
of  last  100  years,  176;  as  factor 
in  Mendelssohnian  movement, 
227;  attitude  of  Jewish  journa¬ 
lists,  259  ;  in  relation  to  Zionism, 

329 

Peace,  cause  of,  259,  266 
Peasant  class  in  Palestine,  336 
Penitence,  Days  of,  286 
Pentateuch,  chanting  of,  63,  226, 
284  ;  German  translation  of,  227, 
244  ;  Yiddish  translation  of,  244 
Pentecost,  domestic  celebration  of, 
69 

Persecution,  effects  of,  21,  35,  127, 
208  ;  influence  upon  Jewish  type, 

1 16.  See  also  Disabilities 
Persia,  Jewish  population  of,  10; 
Judeo-Persian,  243  ;  as  constitu¬ 
tional  state,  318 
Personal  service,  82 
Pester  Lloyd,  257 


SUBJECTS 

Petach  Tikvah,  200,  337,  341 
Petroleum,  discovery  of,  263 
Philadelphia,  Jewish  population  of, 
13  ;  child  mortality,  122 
Philanthropy,  associations  for,  25, 
85,  205 

Philology,  contributions  to,  261 
Philosophy,  contributions  to,  261 
Phylacteries,  59,  282 
Physiognomy,  characteristics  of, 
1 1 2-7 

Physiological  characteristics,  in, 
1 1 7,  seq. 

Pictures,  distinctive  Jewish,  49 
Pigmentation,  112 
Plague  in  India,  cure  of,  264 
Plantation  companies,  335 
Playwrights,  259 
Pneumonia,  124 
“  Poalei  Zion,”  179 
Pogroms,  damage  caused  by,  87, 
157  ;  complicity  of  Govern¬ 
ment,  157  ;  laws  for  preventing, 
95  ;  effect  upon  nervous  system, 
127 ;  cause  of  suicide,  129  ; 
product  of  Muscovite  culture, 
146 ;  outbreak  in  1905,  156  ; 
barring  asylum  to  refugees  from, 
168  ;  self-defence  against,  179  ; 
cause  of  emigration,  198,  215  ; 
cause  of  distress,  208  ;  reflected 
in  literature,  246,  250  ;  cause  of 
apostasy,  301  ;  evanescent  moral 
effect  of,  316 

Poland,  partition  of,  7  ;  mode  of 
dress,  34;  birth-rate,  130;  mar¬ 
riage-rate,  1 31  ;  economic  boy¬ 
cott,  158-9,  208 

Political  influence  of  Jews  exagger¬ 
ated,  172 

Political  Zionism,  329 
Poll-tax,  135,  136,  140 
Population,  Jewish,  5,  seq.,  apparent 
multitude  and  real  paucity  of,  6  ; 
urban  character  of,  32,  118,  128, 
1 3 1,  180  ;  rate  of  increase,  131. 
See  also  Appendix  I 
Poriah,  336 

Portugal,  religious  emancipation 
in,  144 

Poverty,  characteristic  of  Eastern 
Jewry,  35  ;  in  Russia,  158  ; 
general  distribution  of,  207-13 
Prager  Tageblatt,  258 
Prague,  students  at,  231,  234 
Prayers,  59,  282,  283 
Praying-shawl,  56,  59,  73,  282 
Precious  metals,  movement  of,  189 
Press,  Jewish  connexion  with,  257 


366  JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

Prime  Ministers,  Jews  as,  172-3 
Princedom  of  captivity,  277 
Prisons,  Jews  in,  93 
Privy  councillors,  Jews  as,  175 
Prodigies,  musical,  108 
Prophets,  279,  287 
Proselytes,  300,  301 
Proselytism,  114-5,  273] 
Proselytizing  sermons,  138 
Prostitute,  privileged  in  Russia,  150 
Proven9al  ritual,  276 
Prussia,  Jewish  criminality  in,  92  ; 
death-rate,  12 1  ;  suicide,  129  ; 
birth-rate,  129,  130  ;  conver¬ 

sions,  293-5  i  civil  emancipation, 

1 40-1  ;  schools,  229  ;  Junker 
party,  259  ;  mixed  marriages, 
305,  307  ' 

Pseudo-Messianic  sects,  277 
Pugilists,  107 

Purim,  domestic  celebration  of,  69  ; 
in  the  synagogue,  283 

Quest  of  Zion,  328 

Question,  the  Jewish,  local  solution 
of,  28  ;  local  and  universal 
aspects,  308-9 

Rabbinical  Judaism,  influence  of, 
18  ;  view  of  life,  120 
Rabbis,  as  arbitrators,  89  ;  attitude 
to  modern  education,  227  ; 
appointment  in  Continental 
countries,  272  ;  training  of,  274  ; 
functions  of,  274-5  ;  Chief  Rabbi 
of  British  Jewry,  271  ;  Chief 
Rabbi  of  Ottoman  Jewry,  273  ; 
Crown  Rabbis  in  Russia,  272  ; 
opposition  to  Zionism,  329 
Racial  characteristics,  in,  seq.  ; 

racial  purity,  112-6 
Rationalists,  314  ;  rationalism,  317 
“  Red  Ticket,”  341 
Redemption  of  firstborn,  46 
Reform  Judaism,  principles  of, 
19,  278-9  ;  characteristics  and 
effects  of,  286-8 
Regeneration,  national,  329-31 
Reichsrat,  172 
Reichstag,  171 
Rejoicing  of  the  Law,  284 
Relief  of  the  distressed  and  perse¬ 
cuted,  27,  78,  85  ;  of  immigrants, 
80,  104 

Religion,  traditional  orthodoxy, 
18,  279-85  ;  tendencies  in 

Western  Jewry,  19,  286  ;  age  of 
religious  responsibility,  47  ;  in¬ 
fluence  upon  home  life,  48  ; 


MODERN  TIMES 

organization,  269-76  ;  education, 
270 ;  declining  importance  of 
religion,  319 

“  Reverend,"  title  of,  275 
Revisionism,  177 

Revolution,  French,  133,  144  ;  of 
1848,  141  ;  Russian,  178-9,  208, 
3i4>3i8 

Rheumatism,  no,  124 
Rickets,  126 
Rights  of  Man,  136 
Riots,  in  Germany,  141  ;  in  Russia, 
see  Pogroms 
Rishon-le-Zion,  200 
Rites,  domestic,  59  ;  at  death,  73 
Ritual,  differences  of,  19  ;  of  the 
synagogue,  275 
“  Ritual  murder,"  157-8,  318 
Robbery,  95,  97 

Rome,  Ghetto  in,  138  ;  Jewish 
Mayor  of,  175 
Rome  and  Jerusalem,  328 
Rothschild  family  ennobled,  175  ; 
financial  operations,  188  ;  wealth 
of,  204 

Ruchama,  336 

Rumania,  Jewish  population  of,  9  ; 
death-rate,  121  ;  birth-rate,  130  ; 
marriage-rate,  131  ;  civil  dis¬ 
abilities,  159-65  ;  commercial 
activity,  187  ;  industries,  190-1  ; 
Agrarian  revolt,  208  ;  emigra¬ 
tion,  164,  215-16 ;  educational 
conditions,  232,  236 ;  mixed 

marriages,  304 

Russia,  Jewish  population  of,  7 ; 
criminality,  92,  94 ;  exclusion 
from  health  resorts,  no  ;  mili¬ 
tary  recruits,  118  ;  death-rate, 
1 2 1,  122  ;  consumption,  125  ; 

nervous  maladies,  127  ;  birth¬ 
rate,  130  ;  marriage-rate,  131  ; 
natural  increase,  35,  132 
- Civil  disabilities,  147-58  ;  limi¬ 
tations  of  domicile,  147-51  ;  of 
education,  1 52,  233,  326  ;  in  public 
service  and  liberal  professions, 
153  ;  in  property  ownership, 
154 ;  military  service,  154 ; 
pogroms,  157  ( see  also  under 
Pogroms)  ;  political  activity,  169; 
Socialistic  organizations,  178  ; 
Revolution,  178-9,  208,  314,  318 

- Commercial  activity,  186-7; 

financial  pursuits,  190  ;  in¬ 
dustries,  190-4  ;  liberal  pro¬ 
fessions,  203 ;  economic  con¬ 
ditions,  209-1 1  ;  emigration, 
214-22 


3  67 


INDEX  OF 

Russia, Educational  conditions,  232- 
4 ;  ecclesiastical  organization,  272; 
conversions,  295,  298,  301,  314  ; 
Russian  factor  in  Jewish  question, 
318 

Russo-Japanese  War,  Jews  in,  153, 
155,  176  ;  effects  of,  208 ;  in 
literature,  246 

Sabbath,  neglect  of,  21,  285  ; 

special  loaves,  52  ;  food  distinc¬ 
tions,  53  ;  domestic  prepara¬ 
tions,  60,  1 19  ;  celebration,  62, 
seq.  ;  effect  upon  health,  120  ; 
influence  upon  choice  of  occu¬ 
pations,  183  ;  economic  aspect 
of,  206,  209 

Sacrifices,  restoration  of,  287 
Salvarsan,  discovery  of,  264 
Samaritans,  112 

Sanhedrin,  of  Paris,  137,  303  ;  the 
ancient,  273 

Saxony,  emancipation  in,  141 
Scarlet  fever,  126 
Scholastic  movement,  254 
Schoolroom,  synagogue,  270 
Schools,  in  Eastern  Jewry,  85,  235  ; 
prize  distributions,  103  ;  in 
Russia,  152,  232-3  ;  in  Rumania, 
162,  232  ;  for  manual  crafts,  190  ; 
attendance  in  Western  countries, 
228-9  ;  boarding-schools,  236 
Science,  contributions  to,  262,  seq. 
Scrofula,  126 
Sculptors,  260 
Sects,  277 
“  Seimisten,”  179 
Seminaries,  theological,  274 
Semitic  race,  114 
Separation  Law,  138 
Sephardim,  19,  275,  276 
Servia,  Jewish  population  of,  10  ; 

emancipation,  144,  159 
Sexes,  separation  of,  71 
Sexual  diseases,  126  ;  discovery  of 
remedies  for,  264 
Shadchan,  functions  of,  41-2 
Shalet,  53,  61,  64,  65 
Shaving,  prohibition  of,  56 
Shechita,  52,  271 
Shekel,  330 
Sheriffs,  Jews  as,  143 
“Shield  of  David/’  49 
Shofar,  286 

Shulchan  A  ruck,  as  code  of  ortho¬ 
doxy,  18,  48,  58,  273  ;  comprised 
in  a  Jewish  library,  50  ;  as 
subject  of  religious  study,  226, 
284  ;  its  prohibition  of  an  organ 


SUBJECTS 

in  the  synagogue,  285  ;  its 
authority  abrogated  by  Reform 
Judaism,  286  ;  disregard  of,  287 
Shylock,  as  symbol  of  Jewish 
wealth,  204 

Sick,  visitation  of,  76,  275;  benefit 
societies,  104 
“  Sisterhoods,”  82 
Skin  diseases,  126 
Skull,  shape  of,  113 
Slaughter-house,  270,  271 
Slaughterers,  273 
Smallpox,  124 

Smoking,  forbidden  on  the  Sabbath, 

63 

Sobriety,  89,  90,  120,  124,  125 
Socialism,  Jews  and,  in  Germany, 
169,  177  ;  in  Austria,  178  ;  in 
Russia,  178-9 

Societies,  communal,  36,  317  ; 

philanthropic,  80  ;  literary,  102, 
253  ;  sick  benefit,  104  ;  students, 
105  ;  athletic  and  gymnastic, 
107  ;  publication,  252-3 
Soldiers,  Jews  as,  134  ;  in  the 
Prussian  Wars  of  Emancipation, 
140;  in  Russia,  148-9,  153-5;  in 
Rumania,  161,  162,  165;  in  19th 
and  20th  century  wars,  176  ;  in 
France,  176 ;  in  Austria,  176  ; 
in  England,  177  ;  in  Italy,  177 
Solidarity,  springs  of,  23  ;  forms 
of,  24,  seq.  ;  in  emigrants’  relief, 
87  ;  promoted  by  visiting  lec¬ 
turers,  102  ;  furthered  by  Bnei 
Brith,  104  ;  stimulated  by  phil¬ 
anthropic  societies,  317 
Soup-kitchens,  81 

South  Africa,  Jewish  population  of, 
11  ;  emancipation,  144;  Board 
of  Deputies,  167  ;  commercial 
development,  184  ;  immigration, 
220-1 

Spain,  Jews  of,  10,  275  ;  expulsion 
from,  34,  184,  214,  215,  243  ;  re¬ 
peal  of  expulsion  edict,  144 ; 
movement  for  return  of  Jews  to, 
144 

Spanish- American  War,  Jews  in,  176 
Spectator,  quoted,  315 
Spiritual  religion,  281 
Sport,  107 

Statesmen,  Jewish,  172-4 
Stock  Exchange,  institution  of, 
184  ;  membership  of,  190,  204 
Students,  societies  of,  105 ;  and 
Zionism,  331 
Suicide,  128 

Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  Zionism,  332 


368  JEWISH  LIFE  IN  MODERN  TIMES 


Summer  resorts,  109 
Sunday  closing,  166 
Superstitions  at  birth,  45 
Sweden,  emancipation  in,  144; 

mixed  marriages,  305 
Swimming,  107 

Switzerland,  Jewish  population  of, 
10  ;  emancipation  in,  144  ; 
Russo-Jewish  students  in,  153, 
235 

Symbolism :  grief  for  fall  of 
Jerusalem,  49  ;  desire  for  Divine 
bounty,  66  ;  in  the  Passover 
celebration,  67  ;  in  New  Year 
celebration,  69 

Synagogue,  influence  of,  20 ;  as 
nucleus  of  the  community,  24, 269 ; 
centre  of  social  intercourse,  37  ; 
attendance  at,  60,  65  ;  divine 
worship,  282-4  >  declining  in¬ 
fluence  of,  317 

Tabernacles,  domestic  celebration 
of,  68 ;  synagogue  celebration,  284 
Tailoring,  125,  209,  21 1.  See  also 
Clothing  industry 

Talmud,  50  ;  study  of,  60,  99,  103, 
124,  225-6,  270,  283  ;  discourse 
on,  65  ;  composition  of,  279-80 
Talmud  Torah,  226,  228,  233,  270, 
284 

Talmudical  academies,  277 
Tamhui,  77 

Technical  Institute,  Haifa,  339 
Tel  A  bib,  338 

Telephone,  inventor  of,  263 
Temperance,  89,  90,  120 
Territory,  conditions  of  a  national, 
321-5.  See  Jewish  Territorial 
Organization 
Teutsch-Chumesh,  50 
Theatre,  love  of,  108 
Theism,  secession  to,  288 
Times,  25811.;  opinion  on  Jewish 
question  in  Russia,  326 
Toleration,  progress  of,  134,  135 
Torah,  50  ;  study  of,  71,  224,  227 
Toynbee  Halls,  102,  237 
Trachoma,  126,  221  ;  in  Palestine, 
338 

Trade  Union  movement,  195 
Trades.  See  Industrial  pursuits 
Tradition,  in  home  life,  48,  seq.  ; 
authority  of,  273  ;  chain  of  tradi¬ 
tion,  279 

Transmigrants,  220 
Treaty  of  Berlin,  confers  emancipa¬ 
tion  upon  Jews  in  Bulgaria  and 
Servia,  144  ;  stipulates  for  eman¬ 


cipation  of  Jews  in  Rumania, 
1 59-60 ;  recent  demands  for 
fulfilment  of  its  provisions,  164-5 
Tripoli,  Jewish  population  of,  11  ; 

economic  conditions,  208,  212 
Turco-Italian  War,  Jews  in,  176 
Turkey,  Jewish  population  of,  9; 
gymnastic  societies,  107-8  ;  con¬ 
stitution  promulgated,  144  ; 
political  activity  in,  171  ;  com¬ 
munal  organization,  273 ;  as 
constitutional  state,  318 
Turkish  Government  and  Zionism, 
340-1 

Turkish  Revolution,  333 
Turks,  Young,  171 
Types,  diversity  of,  15,  117;  anthro¬ 
pological,  1 12,  seq. 

Typhoid  fever,  119,  124 

United  Hebrew  Charities,  79,  83 
United  States,  Jewish  population 
of,  13,  216  ;  orphanages  and 
hospitals,  85  ;  criminality,  93  ; 
students’  societies,  106 

- Civil  emancipation,  133,  144; 

immigration  to,  163,  214-22  ; 

political  activity  in,  168  ;  com¬ 
mercial  treaty  with  Russia  ter¬ 
minated,  168  ;  Jewish  Ambas¬ 
sadors,  174  ;  Civil  War,  Spanish- 
American  War,  Jews  engaged  in, 
176 

- Commercial  activity,  187; 

agriculture,  199 ;  universities, 
230  ;  religious  organization,  271- 
2  ;  mixed  marriages,  306 
United  Synagogue,  271  ;  Chief 
Rabbi  of,  271 

Universities,  Jews  at,  in  Austria, 
153,  230,  234  ;  in  England,  106, 
230  ;  in  Germany,  153,  230,  234, 
236 ;  in  Hungary,  230,  234  ;  in 
Rumania,  162;  in  Russia,  152, 
234 ;  abnormal  attendance  at, 
230  ;  restriction  of  Russo-Jewish 
students  at  West  European 
universities,  153,  234 
University  for  Jerusalem,  339 
University  Tests  Act,  143 
Unleavened  bread,  54,  67,  273 
Unskilled  labour,  193 
Urban  colonization  in  Palestine, 
337-8 

Urbanization  of  Jewry,  its  pre¬ 
dominant  character,  32  ;  in¬ 
fluence  upon  health,  118  ;  in¬ 
fluence  upon  lunatic  statistics, 
128  ;  influence  upon  birth-rate. 


INDEX  OF 

13 1  ;  in  relation  to  economic 
activity,  180  ;  in  relation  to 
higher  education,  229 

Vaccination,  124 

“  Verbandderdeutschen  Juden/’i67 
Vienna,  Jewish  population  of,  9 ; 
charity  expenditure,  83 ;  death- 
rate,  12 1  ;  political  organ¬ 
ization,  167;  synagogue-tax, 
207  ;  students,  231  ;  Rabbinical 
seminary,  274  ;  conversions,  299  ; 
as  headquarters  of  Zionist  Or¬ 
ganization,  330 
Vitebsk,  cholera  in,  123 
Viticulture  in  Palestine,  337 
Vossische  Zeitung,  258 

Wars,  Jews  in,  176.  See  also 
Soldiers 

Warsaw,  Jewish  population  of,  8; 

prevalence  of  hysteria,  127 
Watering-places,  109 
Wealth  of  Jews,  204-7 
Weddings,  100 

Western  Jewry  compared  with 
Eastern,  4,  36 ;  in  regard  to 
suicide,  129 
White  slave  traffic,  90 
Whitechapel,  law-abiding  character 
of,  90;  death-rate,  12 1 
Wife-desertion,  89 
Wig  worn  by  women,  57,  70 
Wild  wheat,  discoverer  of,  263 
Wilna,  literary  circle  at,  248 
Wine,  for  Sabbath  sanctification, 
63,  120  ;  Sabbath  termination, 
66  ;  in  Passover  celebration,  67 
Wireless  telegraphy,  263 
“  Wissenschaftdes  Judentums,”  252 
Woman,  Oriental  view  of,  46 ; 
wearing  of  a  wig,  57,  70  ;  her 


SUBJECTS  369 

place  in  the  home,  70-1  ; 
maladies  of,  124 
Woman  suffrage,  179 
“  Wonder  Rabbis,"  231 
Wurttemberg,  emancipation  in,  141 ; 
administration  of  congregations, 
272 

“  Yellow  ticket,"  in  Russia,  150 
Yemen,  Jews  of,  145-6  ;  as  settlers 
in  Palestine,  336,  337 
Yeshiba,  226  ;  Yeshiboth,  274 
Yiddish,  origin  of,  34  ;  paraphrase 
of  Pentateuch,  50,  100  ;  modes 
of  greeting,  72  ;  theatres,  108  ; 
as  medium  of  instruction,  226  ; 
prevalence  of,  237,  322  ;  litera¬ 
ture  in,  242-7  ;  drama,  251  ; 
modernist  influence  in  Yiddish 
literature,  314 

Zaddik,  284 

Ze’enah  Uve'enah,  50,  244 
Zemstvos,  Jews  excluded  from,  154 
Zion,  restoration  of,  278,  282,  286  ; 
pilgrimages  to,  328  ;  “  Lovers 

of  Zion,"  328 

Zionism,  aims  of,  19,  26,  327  ;  in 
Hebrew  literature,  250;  precursors 
of,  328-9  ;  influence  upon  Jewish 
life,  330-2  ;  institutions  of,  332- 
3  ;  Palestinian  colonization,  333- 
9  ;  political  aspect  of,  340-2  ; 
general  outlook,  342-3 
Zionist  Congress,  influence  upon 
Jewish  solidarity,  26 ;  diversity 
of  types  at,  116 

Zionist  organization,  establishment 
of,  330 ;  influence  upon  educa¬ 
tion  in  Russia,  233 
Zionist  Socialist  Party,  178 
Zionist  students’  societies,  106 


24 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Aaronsoiin,  Aaron,  263 

Abdul  Hamid,  Sultan,  340 

Abrahams,  Israel,  77  n. 

Abramowitsch,  Solomon  Jacob,  245 

“  Achad  Haam,”  250 

Adler,  Dr.  Felix,  266 

Adler,  Dr.  Herman,  275 

Adler,  Dr.  Victor,  178 

Akiba,  Rabbi,  77 

Albus,  the,  184 

Alexander  I,  146,  196 

Alexander  II,  147,  152 

Alexander  III,  298 

Angell,  Norman,  266 

Anin,  Maxim,  178 

Antokolski,  Marc,  260 

Arthur,  King,  244 

Artom,  Isaac,  172,  174 

Asch,  Schalom,  246 

Ascoli,  Graziadio,  261 

Asser,  Tobias,  262,  266 

Atias,  Isaac  da  Costa,  139 

Auerbach,  Berthold,  256 

Auerbach,  Dr.  Elias,  212  n. 

Badass,  Dr.,  173 
Bakst,  Leon,  261 
Bamberger,  Ludwig,  174 
Barnatos,  the,  184 
Barnay,  Ludwig,  259 
Belasco,  David,  259 
Bell,  Graham,  263 
Belloc,  Hilaire,  204 
Ben-Avigdor,  251 
Ben-Jehuda,  251 
Bentwich,  Norman,  289  n. 

Bergson,  Prof.  Henri,  178,  261 
Berliner,  Emil,  263 
Berman,  Hannah,  246  n. 

Bernal,  293 
Bernhardt,  Sarah,  259 
Bernstein,  Eduard,  169,  177 
Bernstein,  Henri,  259 
Bialik,  Nachman,  250 
Bibbero,  Marquis,  107 
Billings,  Dr.  J.  S.,  121,  125 


Bischoffsheims,  the,  188,  189 
Bismarck,  174,  303 
Bleichroeder,  188,  189 
Blioch,  Ivan,  189,  266 
Blowitz,  Henri  de,  258  n. 
Blumenthal  Oscar,  259 
Boas,  Prof.  Franz,  113 
Boccaccio,  246 
Boerne,  Ludwig,  256 
Brainin,  Reuben,  251,  302  n. 
Brandes,  Eduard,  173 
Brandes,  Georg,  117,  151  n..  257 
Breal,  Michel,  261 
Bruch,  Max,  260 
Burchardt,  Hermann,  265 
Busch,  M.,  303  n. 

Cantor,  Georg,  262 
Caro,  Rabbi  Joseph,  273,  280 
Carubio,  Count  di,  174 
Cassel,  Sir  Ernest,  189 
Castello,  Percy  M.,  190  n. 
Catherine  I,  146 
Cavour,  172 
Cayley,  262 

Chamberlain,  Houston,  255 
Clement  XIV,  158 
Cohen,  Arthur,  175 
Cohen,  Henry  Emanuel,  173,  174 
Cohen,  Prof.  Hermann,  177,  261 
Cohn,  Ferdinand,  262 
Columbus,  5,  12,  254,  265 
Copernicus,  254 
Coralnik,  Dr.  A.,  302  n. 

Corneille,  259 
Cowen,  Dr.  Frederic,  260 
Cremieux,  Adolphe,  173 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  142 
Cuza,  Professor,  162 

Dalman,  Gustav,  298 
Darmesteter,  Ars&ne,  261 
Darmesteter,  James,  261 
Davidsohn,  M.,  263 
Davitt,  Michael,  157  n. 
Derenbourg,  Hartwig,  262,  294 
370 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


37i 


Derenbourg,  Joseph,  262 
Dernburg,  Dr.  Bernhard,  174  n. 
Dernburg,  Friedrich,  258 
Deutsch,  Emanuel,  294 
Disraeli,  Benjamin,  174,  257,  293 
Dohm,  Christian  William,  140 
Dreyfus,  316 
Dubnow,  S.  M.,  20,  302 
Diihring,  260 
Duveen,  185 
Dy mov,  257 

Ecksteins,  the,  184 

Edward,  King,  264 

Ehrlich,  Prof.  Paul,  255,  264,  266 

Eliot,  George,  328 

Elman,  Mischa,  260 

Emin  Pasha,  265 

Epstein,  Jacob,  261 

Epstein,  Dr.  M.,  184  n. 

Erter,  Isaac,  248 
Ezekiel,  Moses,  261 

Faitlovitch,  Dr.  Jacques,  11 
Fall,  Leo,  260 
Feldmann,  Joshua,  146  n. 

Felix,  Rachel,  259 
Ferdinand,  Emperor,  141 
Fichte,  140 
Finot,  Jean,  258 
Fischer,  S.,  257 

Fishberg,  Dr.  M.,  113,  125,  126, 
230  n.,  306 

Fleischer,  Dr.  Siegmund,  231  n. 
Fould,  Achille,  173 
Francis  Joseph,  Emperor,  142 
Frankel,  Albert,  264 
Frederick  the  Great,  139 
Frederick  William  III,  140,  294 
Frederick  William  IV,  294 
Freycinet,  173 
Fried,  Albert,  266 
Friedlander,  David,  228 
Friedrichsfeld,  David,  139 
Frischmann,  David,  251 
Fruhling,  Moritz,  176  n. 

Fulda,  Ludwig,  259 
Furtado,  293 

Ganganelli,  Cardinal,  158 
Geiger,  Abraham,  241 
Geiger,  Prof.  Ludwig,  256 
Gilbert,  Jean,  260 
Ginzburg,  Asher,  250 
Ginzburg,  Mordecai  Aaron,  248 
Glaser,  Eduard,  265 
Goblet,  173 
Godefroy,  M.  H.,  173 
Goethe,  140 


Goldberg,  B.,  201  n. 

Goldfaden,  Abraham,  109,  251 
Goldmark,  Karl,  260 
Goldschmidt,  Hermann,  263 
Goldsmid,  Colonel  Albert,  108 
Goldsmid,  Francis,  143 
Goldsmid,  Sir  Julian,  117,  173 
Goldziher,  Prof.  Ignaz,  262 
Gollancz,  Prof.  Israel,  257 
Gordin,  Jacob,  109 
Gordon,  Judah  Loeb,  249 
Goudchaux,  Michel,  173 
Grad,  Benjamin,  35  n. 

Graetz,  Heinrich,  241,  252,  303  n. 
Graetz,  Leo,  263 
Gregoire,  Abbe,  136 
Giinzburg,  Barons  Horace  and 

Joseph,  189 

Haase,  Flugo,  169,  177 
Hadamard,  262 
Haffkine,  Waldemar,  264 
Halevy,  Fromenthal,  260 
Hall,  Prescott  F.,  233  n. 

Hall,  Dr.  W.,  126 

Haman,  283 

Hambourg,  Mark,  260 

Harden,  Maximilian,  258 

Haret,  M.,  162 

Harkavy,  A.,  115 

Hatzfeld,  Adolphe,  262 

Hauptmann,  Gerhart,  257 

Hay,  John,  164 

Hedin,  Sven,  265 

Heilbronn,  185 

Heilprin,  Angelo,  265 

Heine,  Heinrich,  53,  255,  256,  261 

Heltai,  Dr.  Franz,  175 

Henle,  Friedrich  Gustav,  264 

Heppner,  Ernst,  262  n. 

Hermann,  Georg,  256 

Hertz,  Heinrich,  263 

Herz,  Henrietta,  256 

Herzl,  Dr.  Theodor,  50,  117,  329, 

33°>  34° 

Hess,  Moses,  328 

Heyermanns,  Hermann,  257,  259 

Hirsch,  Baron  M.  de,  25,  50,  86, 

117,  189,  198,  199,  231 
Hirsch  (art-dealer),  185 
Hirsch  (news  agency),  257 
Hirszenberg,  Samuel,  252 
Hofmannsthal,  256 
Horowitz,  Leopold,  260 
Hourwich,  Dr.  I.  A.,  195 
Hugo,  Victor,  246 

Ibsen,  314  t 

Ignatieff,  Count,  148 


372 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

Innocent  IV,  1 58 
Isaacs,  Isaac  Alfred,  173,  175 
Isaacs,  Nathaniel,  185 
Isaacs,  Sir  Rufus,  173 
Israel  ben  Eliezer,  45,  278 
Israels,  Josef,  255,  260 
Isserles,  Rabbi  Moses,  281 
Itzig,  Daniel,  228 

Jacob  ben  Asher,  Rabbi,  280 
Jacobi,  Karl,  262 
Jacobs,  Joseph,  113 
Jacobs,  Simeon,  174 
Jacobson,  Ludwig,  265 
James,  Dr.  Edmund  J.,229  n. 

Jesus,  255 

Joachim,  Joseph,  260 
Jochelson,  Waldemar,  265 
Jones,  Henry,  104 
Jorga,  Professor,  162 
Joseph  II,  of  Austria,  140 
Joshua,  279 
Judt,  Dr.  M.,  1 14 

Kalischer,  Hirsch,  328 
Kant,  261 

Kaplun-Kogan,  W.  W.,  186 
Karpeles,  Dr.  Gustav,  256 
Kiamil  Pasha,  174  n. 

Kiralfy,  Imre,  266 
Kiss,  Joseph,  257 
Klausner,  Joseph,  251 
Klopstock,  248 
Klotz,  Lucien,  173 
Krochmal,  248 
Kronenberg,  Baron,  189 
Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  189 

Lasker,  Eduard,  174 
Lasker,  Emanuel,  262 
Lassalle,  Ferdinand,  169,  177 
Lazards,  the,  188 
Lazare,  Bernard,  258 
Lazarus,  Moritz,  252 
Lebensohn,  Abraham  Beer,  248 
Lee,  Sir  Sidney,  257 
Lessing,  140,  245,  256 
Letteris,  M.  H.?  248 
Levin,  Rahel,  256,  294 
Levinsohn,  Isaac  Beer,  249 
Levy,  Calmann,  257 
Liebermann,  Prof.  Max,  260 
Lilienblum,  Moses,  328 
Lilienthal,  Otto,  263 
Littre,  262 

Lippman,  Gabriel,  263 
Loeb,  Prof.  Morris,  230  n. 
Loevinson,  Prof.  E.,  176  n.,  286  n. 
Lombroso,  Cesare,  265 


MODERN  TIMES 

Lopez,  293 
Lubin,  David,  266 
Luschan,  Prof,  von,  114 
Luzzatti,  Luigi,  172 
Luzzatto,  Moses  Haim,  248 

Maccabaeus,  Judas,  16 
Maeterlinck,  257 
Maimonides,  241,  280,  281 
Malvano,  Signor,  172 
Manasseh  ben  Israel,  241 
Mandelstamm,  Dr.  Max,  118 
Mapu,  Abraham,  249 
Marcus,  Siegfried,  263 
Marmorek,  Dr.  Alexander,  265 
Martens,  Kurt,  256,  257  n. 

Marx,  Karl,  169,1177,  255 
Maupassant,  De,  314 
Melville,  Lewis,  257 
Mendelssohn,  Dorothea,  256 
Mendelssohn,  Henriette,  256 
Mendelssohn,  Moses,  139, 140, 227-8, 
243,  256,  294,  320 
Mendelssohn,  Sidney,  11  n. 
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,  255,  261 
Mendes,  Catulle,  257 
Mendes,  David,  248 
Menelik,  115 

Merry  del  Val,  Cardinal,  158 
Meyerbeer,  260 
Michelson,  Albert,  263,  266 
Millaud,  Edouard,  173 
Minkowski,  262 
Minski,  257 
Mirabeau,  136 
Mombert,  Alfred,  256 
Mommsen,  158,  295 
Montagu,  Edwin,  173 
Montefiore,  Claude,  288 
Monteftore,  Sir  Moses,  50 
Montesquieu,  136 
Morgenthau,  Henry,  174 
Mosenthal  brothers,  184 
Moses,  255,  279 
Munk,  Salomon,  241,  294 
Munz,  Siegmund,  258 
Myers,  Joel,  184 

Nabarro,  David,  265 
Nansen,  265 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  138,  140,  272, 
303 

Napoleon,  Jerome,  138 
Napoleon  III,  173 
Nathan,  Ernesto,  175 
Nathan,  Sir  Matthew,  174 
Nathan,  Sir  Nathaniel,  174,  175 
Nathansen,  Henri,  259 
Neisser,  Albert,  264 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


373 


Neubauer,  Adolf,  294 
Nicholas  I,  56,  152,  196,  295 
Nicholas  II,  147 
Nietzsche,  257 

Noah,  Mordecai  Manuel,  328 
Nordau,  Dr.  Max,  210,  258,  265  n., 
340 

Norden,  Simon,  184 
Nystrom,  113 

Oesterreicher,  Josef,  263 
Offenbach,  Jacques,  260 
Oppenheim,  Max  von,  265 
Oppenheim,  Moritz,  50 
Oppenheimer,  Dr.  Franz,  336 
Oppert,  Jules,  262,  294 
Ospovat,  Henry,  261 
Ottolenghi,  General,  172 

Pahlen,  Count,  156 
Pass,  De,  brothers,  184 
Paul  I,  146 
Paulsen,  295 
Pereires,  the,  188,  189 
Perez,  Leon,  246 
Perl,  Joseph,  231 
Pilichowski,  Leopold,  252 
Pinsker,  Leon,  328 
Pirbright,  Lord,  173 
Pissaro,  Camille,  260 
Pius  VII,  138 
Pobiedonostzev,  158 
Poliak,  Leopold,  260 
Popper,  Josef,  263 
Press,  Jesaias,  200  n. 

Pringsheim,  Nathaniel,  262 
Pulitzer,  Joseph,  258 

Querido,  Berechiah,  277 
Querido,  Isidor,  257 

Rabinowitsch,  Solomon,  246 
Racine,  248,  259 
Rapaport,  S.  L.,  248 
Raymond,  127 
Raynal,  David,  173 
Reading,  Lord,  173 
Reinach,  Salomon,  262 
Reinhardt,  Prof.  Max,  259 
Reis,  Philipp,  263 
Reuter,  Baron,  257 
Ricardo,  David,  293 
Ries,  Peter,  263 
Riesser,  Gabriel,  141,  169 
Riesser,  Prof.  Jacob,  169 
Ripley,  W.  Z.,  113,  116 
Robinson,  Leonard  G.,  119  n. 

Roi,  J.  de  le,  297 
Rosenfeld,  Leon,  189 


Rosenfeld,  Morris,  246 
Rosenwald,  Julius,  185 
Rothschild,  Baron  Edmond  de,  26, 
201,  329,  335 

Rothschild,  Baron  Lionel  de,  143 
Rothschild,  Lord,  143,  158 
Rubinow,  I.  M.,  186  n.,  191  n.,  192  n., 
209  n. 

Riihs,  Friedrich,  141 
Ruppin,  Dr.  Arthur,  185,  212,  220, 
229  n.,  230,  306,  307 

Saadyah,  241 
Salisbury,  Lord,  160 
Salomons,  David,  143 
Salomons,  Sir  Julian,  174 
Salvador,  Joseph,  328 
Samter,  Dr.  N.,  303  n.,  305 
Samuel,  Herbert,  173 
Samuel,  Sir  Saul,  174 
Sassoons,  the,  189 
Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  189,  222 
Schiller,  245 
Schnitzer,  Eduard,  265 
Schnitzler,  Arthur,  256,  259 
Schreiner,  Abraham,  263 
Schwarz,  David,  263 
Schwarzschild,  262 
Segall,  Dr.  Jacob,  186  n.,  190  n., 
191  n.,  202  n.,  203  n.,  206  n. 
Seligmann  (art  dealer),  185 
Seligmanns  (financiers),  188 
Semenoff,  E.,  157  n. 

Semon,  Sir  Felix,  264 

Sennacherib,  116 

Shakespeare,  204,  246 

Sheba,  Queen  of,  115 

Shishak,  116 

Shulman,  Caiman,  249 

Simon  the  Just,  76 

Singer,  Isidore,  157 

Singer,  Paul,  177 

Sinzheim,  Rabbi,  137 

Slonimski,  Chaim,  262 

Smolenskin,  Perez,  250,  328 

Sokolow,  Nahum,  251 

Solomon,  King,  115 

Solomon,  J.  Solomon,  260 

Solomon,  V.  L.,  173 

Sombart,  Prof.  W.,  183,  185,  206 

Sonnenthal,  Adolf  von,  259 

Speyers,  the,  188 

Spinoza,  224,  255 

Stein,  Dr.  I.  A.,  325 

Stein,  Sir  Marc  Aurel,  265 

Steinitz,  262 

Stein thal,  Hermann,  261 

Sterns,  the,  188 

Stettenheim,  Julius,  256 


374  JEWISH  LIFE  IN 

Stilling,  Benedikt,  264 
Stolypin,  155,  156 
S  track,  Prof.  H.  L.,  158 
Straus,  Nathan,  338 
Straus,  Oscar  (diplomatist),  151, 
I73>  174 

Straus,  Oscar  (composer),  260 
Strieker,  Salomon,  264 
Struck,  Hermann,  252,  261 
Stuyvesant,  Peter,  78 
Sue,  Eugene,  249 
Sulzberger,  Meyer,  174 
Siisskind,  224 
Sutro,  Alfred,  259 
Sylvester,  James,  262 

Talleyrand,  136 
Tchaka,  King,  185 
Tchernichowsky,  Saul,  250 
Theilaber,  Dr.  Felix,  289  n., 
306  n. 

Thon,  Dr.  Jacob,  186  n.,  212  n,, 
299  n. 

Tietz,  185 

Titus,  Emperor,  279 
Tolstoi,  246,  314 
Traube,  Ludwig,  264 
Treitschke,  295 

Ullstein  &  Co.,  258 
Unger,  Josef,  262 
Uzzielli,  293 

Vambery,  Arminius,  261,  265 
Victor  Emanuel  II,  138 


MODERN  TIMES 

Vogel,  Sir  Julias,  173 

Wagner,  Richard,  260 
Waldstein,  Sir  Charles,  262 
Wassermann,  August  von,  264 
Wassermann,  Jacob,  256 
Webb,  Sidney,  195 
Weingarten,  262 
Wertheim,  185 

Wessely,  Naphtali  Hartwig,  228,  248 
Winterfeld,  Max,  260 
Winterstein,  Baron  S.  von,  173 
Witte,  Count,  156 
Wolf,  Lucien,  148  n.,  258 
Wolf,  Theodor,  258 
Wolff  (news  agency),  257 
Wolffe,  Jabez,  107 
Wollemborg,  Leone,  172 
Worms,  Baron  Henry  de,  173 

Ximenes,  the,  293 

Yushkevitch,  257 

Zamenhof,  Dr.  Ludwig,  266 

Zangwill  Israel,  179,  241,  257,  324 

Zedner,  294 

Zeppelin,  Count,  263 

Zevi,  Sabbatai,  277 

Zimbalist,  Ephraim,  260 

Zola,  Emile,  314 

Zollschan,  112,  113,  114,  185,  207, 
212  n. 

Zuckertort,  262 
Zunz,  Leopold,  241,  252 


Printed  by  Morrison  &  Gibb  Limited,  Edinburgh 


COMPARATIVE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  JEWISH  POPULATION 


L The  World  s  Oewish  Population  in  191 4. 

.The  Russian  Umpire 

6  262.763 

United 

Stales 

of 

Tlorlh 

fimerica 

2.300.000 

fiasiria- 

Hungary 

2.2582'/ 2 

Germany 

615.029 

(  Tale  of  Settle  merit— 

( Galicia 

8/1 906) 

'Suhcwinal0fi9\ 

Ottoman  Cmpire 
385. 000 

LJitkoul  Poland 

4-  038  735  ) 

United  Kingdom 
Z70. 000 

Roumania 
2.50. 000 

(fysloj  Austria 

Morocco  109  712 

338862> 

Hetkerld.  106  309 

Trance  100  000 

Greece  90.000 

(  Poland 

1  7/6  06+ ) 

(  Hungary 
932m) 

Other  (oi/nlries 
732 . 592 

Ura/iJ  Total 

(  Test  of  Russia  in  Turope  367318 

I  Russia,  m  Asia  ifo  636  ) 

13.4-79.375 

- - - 

— - 

THE  THIRTY  LARGEST  JEWISH  COMMUNITIES 


PerCent 

O-O.S 


2-3 


3-4 


Jewish  Population. 

Percentage 

of 

Tot.  Pop. 

Jewish 

Population. 

Percentage 

of 

Tot.  Pop. 

Greater  New  York  .  1,000,000 

Warsaw  .  .  308,488 

Budapest  .  .  .  203,687 

Chicago  .  .  .  200,000 

Vienna  .  .  .  175,318 

Odessa  .  .  .  170,000 

Greater  London  .  .  160,000 

Philadelphia  .  .  150,000 

Greater  Berlin  .  .  142,289 

Lodz  ....  92,308 

Wilna  .  .  .  88,000 

Salonica  .  .  .  85,000 

Boston  .  .  .  75,000 

Jerusalem  .  .  .  65,000 

Constantinople  .  .  65,000 

There  are  also  40,000  Jews  in  the  two 

20-97 

39- 80 
23-00 

9-15 

8- 75 
48-00 

2-15 

9- 68 

6-87 

22-60 

40- 00 
42-50 
11-18 
65-00 

5-77 

\merican  citi< 

Amsterdam  .  .  .  60,170 

Cleveland  .  .  .  60,000 

Paris  ....  60,000 

Lemberg  .  .  .  57,387 

Kishineff  .  .  •  52,000 

Tunis  ....  50,000 

Baltimore  .  .  .  50,000 

Minsk  ....  49,957 

Ekaterinoslav  .  .  .  47,566 

Berditchev  .  .  .  47,000 

Bagdad  ....  45,000 

Bucharest  .  .  43,274 

Bialystok  .  .  .  42,000 

Kovno  ....  40,369 

Buenos  Ayres.  .  .  40,000 

;s  of  Rochester  (18-33  p.c.)  and  St.  Loui 

11-30 

10-70 

2- 15 

35- 88 
46-00 
21-98 

8-95 

54-60 

36- 56 
87-52 
3103 
15-34 
65-62 
54-60 

3- 80 

s  (5-82  p.c.). 

4-tf 


fompctrcttive  Density  of" 

the  Jewish  Population. 


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